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THE 

LAST  MESSAGE 

OF 

JESUS   CHRIST 

OR 

THE  APOCALYPSE  IN  A  NEW  LIGHT 


BY  y^ 

Rev.  John    Hamilton  Timbrell 

With  an  Introduction  by 
Rev.  H.   A.   BuTTz,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


NEW    YORK:     EATON    &    MAINS 
CINCINNATI:  JENNINGS  &  GRAHAM 

/ig5" 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
EATON  &  MAINS. 


THE  LAST  MESSAGE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 

OR 

THE  APOCALYPSE  IN  A  NEW  LIGHT 


GRAND  DIVISIONS 

(i)  The  Terrestrial  Series — The  Book  of  the  Christophany. 

(2)  The   Celestial   Series — The   Books  of  the   Theophany  and 

Pneumatophany. 

(3)  The  Retributive  Series — The  Retributive  Trilogy. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Introduction.     By  the  Rev.  Henry  A.  Buttz,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President 
of  Drew  Theological  Seminary. 

Prefatory Pages  i-io. 


PROLEGOMENA 

The  Plan  of  the  Apocalypse.  Comprehensive  Diagrams,  etc.  The 
Angels  of  the  Apocalypse,  (i)  The  Christophany.  (2)  The  Theoph- 
any.  The  Dual  Phase  of  the  Theophany.  (3)  The  Pneumatophany. 
The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany.  (4)  The  Basilophany.  (5)  The 
Satanophany.  (6)  The  Theriophany.  (7)  The  Pseudo-Prophetoph- 
any.  The  Satanic  Counterfeit  of  the  Trinity.  The  Contrastive 
Counterpart.  Synthetic  Outhne.  The  Concerted  Exponential 
Throne  Voicings.  The  Apocalyptic  Numbers.  The  Book  of  the 
Christophany.  The  Light  at  the  Threshold.  The  Annunciation — Its 
Mystic  Content.  The  Benediction — Its  Incomplete  Triad.  The 
Christophany Pages  1 1-50. 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  CHRISTOPHANY 

Adjustment  of  Its  Symbolism.  Synthetic  Adjustment.  The  Sev- 
en Christophanic  Letters.  Ephesus.  Smyrna.  Pergamos.  Thyatira. 
Sardis.  Philadelphia.  The  Key  of  David.  The  Great  Tribulation. 
Laodicea.     The  Laodicean  Paragraphic  Groupings.  .  .  .  Pages  51-1 11. 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  THEOPHANY 

Introductory.  The  Theophany — Its  Ontological  Phase.  The  Ex- 
ponential Ontological  Grouping.  The  Master  of  Ceremonies.  The 
Chromatic  Glory  of  Deity.  The  Twenty-four  Throned  Elders.  The 
Concerted    Throne    Utterances.     The    Seven    Spirits.     The    Crystal 


vi  Table  of  Contents 

Sea.  The  Four  Zoa.  Creation's  Worship  in  the  Presence  of  the 
Throne.  The  Theophany — The  Redemptorial  Scene.  The  Signifi- 
cance of  the  Figures  of  This  Grouping.  The  Challenge.  The  Tri^imph 
of  the  Lamb.  The  Concerted  Worship  of  the  Zoa  and  the  Elders. 
The  Worship  of  the  Angels.  The  Worship  of  Universal  Sentient 
Being.  The  Final  Voicing  of  the  Elders  and  Zoa  ....  Pages  1 12-140. 
The  Book  of  the  Theophany — The  Opening  of  Its  Seals.  The 
Great  Earthquake.  The  White  Horseman.  The  Great  Altar. 
The  Great  Earthquake Pages  140-152. 


The  First  Contrastive  Counterpart 

The  Divine  Restraint  of  the  Four  Winds.  The  Sealing  of  the 
Twelve  Tribes  of  Israel.  The  Sunrise  Angel.  The  Mystery  of 
Israel.     The  Great  White-Robed  Throng — Second  Phase. 

Pages  152-164. 

The  Seventh  Seal — The  Trumpets.  The  Seven  Trumpets. 
Readjustment  of  the  Staging.  The  Single  Exponential  Grouping. 
The  Second  Utterance  of  the  Concerted  Voicings.  The  Sound- 
ing of  the  Trumpets.  The  Fall  of  the  Great  Fire-Mountain.  The 
Fall  of  the  Burning  Star.  The  Eclipse  of  the  Celestial  Luminaries. 
The  Fallen  Star  with  the  Key  of  the  Bottomless  Pit.  The  Divine 
Restraint  of  the  Locusts.  Physical  Characteristics  of  the  Locusts. 
The  Loosing  of  the  Four  Bound  Angels Pages  164-184. 


The  Second  Contrastive  Counterpart 

The  Pneumatophany.  The  Pneumatophanic  Paraphernalia.  The 
Divine  Commission  for  the  Universal  Propaganda  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  The  Groupings  of  the  Contrastive  Counterpart,  (i)  A  Temple 
Scene.  (2)  The  Two  Witnesses.  The  Two  Witnesses — Identification 
and  Office.  Identification  of  the  Symbol.  The  Slaughter  of  the 
Witnesses  by  the  Abysmal  Beast.  The  Resurrection  of  the  Wit- 
nesses.    The  Great  Earthquake Pages  184-212. 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PNEUMATOPHANY 

The  Scope  of  the  Seventh  Trumpet.  Introductory  Features  of  the 
Book  of  the  Pneumatophany.  The  Final  Blast  of  the  Trumpets. 
The  Exponential  Dominant  Figure — The  Elders.  The  Temple  of 
God  is  Opened.     Concerted  Throne  Voicings Pages  213-219. 


Table  of  Contents  vii 


Basilophany  versus  Satanophany 

The  Groupings  of  the  Basilophany.  The  Basilophany.  The 
Satanophany.  The  Binding  and  Loosing  of  Satan  Relative  to  the 
Divine  Kingdom.  The  Great  Celestial  War.  The  Double  Wilder- 
ness Flight  of  the  Woman.  Dragonic  Persecution.  The  Dragonic  Flood 
of  Waters.     Dragonic  War  with  the  Remnant  of  the  Woman's  Seed. 

Pages  219-248. 

The  Symbolism  of  the  Third  Woe 

The  Great  Marine  Therion.  The  Dual  Figures  of  the 
Theriophany.  Structural  Analysis  of  the  Grouping.  The 
Terrene  Therion — The  Pseudo-Prophetophany Pages  248-271. 

The  Contrastive  Counterpart  of  the  Third  Woe 

Mount  Sion — The  Lamb — Sealed  Israel.  The  Paragraphic  Grouping 
of  the  Counterpart.  First  Section  of  the  Counterpart — Its  Forces. 
The  Second  Section — The  Triad  of  Coimter  Activity.  The  Structural 
Marking  of  Division.  The  Third  Section — The  Triad  of  FinaHties. 
The  Angel  with  the  Eternal  Gospel.  The  Fall  of  Babylon.  The 
Fearful  Doom  of  the  Slaves  of  the  Beast.  Structural  Marking  of  the 
Section  of  Finalities.  The  Third  and  Final  Section  of  the  Counterpart. 
The  Voicing  of  the  Spirit.  The  Harvest  of  the  World.  The  Great 
World- Vintage Pages  272-290. 


THE  RETRIBUTIVE  TRILOGY 

Introductory 

The  Vial  Series  of  Retribution 

The  Deployment  of  the  Retributive  Forces.  The  Seven  Angels — Israel 
— The  Zoa.  The  Governing  Dramatis  Personae  of  the  Vials.  Israel 
Triumphant  upon  the  Crystal  Sea.  Nature's  Vengeance  on  Sin.  The 
Sevenfold  Cup  of  Retribution.  The  Preludial  Throne  Utterance. 
The  Pouring  Out  of  the  Vials.  The  Structural  Point  of  the  Counter- 
part. The  Contrastive  Utterance,  (i)  The  Going  Forth  of  the  Anti- 
trinitarian  Forces.  (2)  The  Saints  Warned  of  Christ's  Coming.  (3)  The 
Final  Great  Field  of  Battle — Armageddon.  The  Seventh  Vial  Poured 
into  the  Air.  The  Structural  Coincidence  to  be  Noted  Between  the 
Trumpets  and  the  Vials Pages  291-319. 


viii  Table  of  Contents 

The  Retributive  Trilogy 

Fourth  and  Final  Utterance  of  the  Throne  Voicings 

The  Great  Mystery  in  Scarlet 

Analytic  Outline  of  the  Trilogy,  (i)  The  Great  Scarlet  Mystery. 
(2)  She  is  Confronted  by  the  Angel  of  the  Pneuniatophany.  (3)  Scenic 
Display  of  the  Wrath  of  the  Lamb.  (4)  The  Marriage  of  the  Lamb 
— A  Prelude.  (5)  Trium^jh  of  the  Multi-diademed  White  Horseman. 
(6)  Final  Triumph  of  the  Throne  of  the  Theophany.  (7)  The 
Scenic   Display   of   Finalities.     The   Final   Contrastive   Counterpart. 

Pages  319-326. 

Babylon  the  Great,  the  Mother  of  Harlots 

First  Section  of  the  Trilogy.  The  Trilogy — Part  First.  The  Fall 
of  Babylon.  Babylon  Confronted  by  the  Angel  of  the  Pneuma- 
tophany.  The  Threnody,  (i)  The  Divine  Call  to  Israel.  (2)  Throne- 
less  Kings  in  Mourning.  (3)  The  Great  Mercantile  Black  Friday. 
(4)  The  Wail  of  the  Merchant  Marine.  (5)  The  Antiphony  of  the 
Skies.  (6)  The  Mighty  Executive  and  the  Great  Millstone.  (7)  The 
Contrastive  Joy  of  the  Heavenly  World Pages  326-365. 

The  Marriage  of  the  Lamb 

The  Initial  Throne  Voicing.  The  Heavenly  Storm  of  Music.  The 
Apocalyptist's  Misdirected  Worship  of  the  Angel Pages  365-371. 

The  Trilogy — Part  Second 
The  Fall  of  the  Beast  and  False  Prophet 

The  White    Horseman   at   the    Head    of   the    Armies  of    Heaven. 

Pages  371-380. 

The  Trilogy — Part  Third 

The  Whelming  of  the  Dragon 

Structural  Analysis  of  the  Dragonic  Section,  (i)  The  Quadrate  of 
the  Binding.  (2)  The  Qtiadrate  of  the  Loosing.  The  Binding  of 
the  Dragon.  Millennial  Etchings.  Correlate  Phases  of  Dragonic 
Restraint,  (i)  The  Angel  with  the  Key  and  Chain.  The  Basis  of  the 
Symbol  of  the  Thousand  Years.     (2)  The  Enthronement  of  the  Saints. 


Table  of  Contents  ix 

(3)  The  Millennial  Reign  of  the  Martyrs.  When  Does  Christ's  Reign 
Begin?  (4)  The  First  Resurrection.  The  Triad  of  the  Draconic 
Section.  (5)  The  Loosing  of  Satan  for  a  Little  Season.  (6)  The 
Second  Coming  of  Christ.  (7)  The  General  Resurrection  and  the 
Judgment Pages  380-43 1 . 

The  Contrastive  Counterpart  of  the  Trilogy 

Exponential  Groupings.  The  Quadrate  of  the  Final  Broken 
Sevens,  (i)  The  New  Heaven,  New  Earth,  and  New  Jerusalem. 
Trinitarian  Voicings.  (2)  The  Eternal  Spirit  Identified  by  Associa- 
tion. (3)  The  Silence  of  the  Throned  Eternal  Broken.  (4)  The 
Eternal  Son — His  Unity  with  the  Father Pages  431-436. 

The  Bride  of  the  Lamb 

(i)  Description  of  the  City.  (2)  Its  Inhabitants.  (3)  The  Throne 
of  God  Its  Source  of  Life  and  Central  Glory.     The  Glory  of  the  Bride. 

Pages  436-451. 

Trinitarian  Attestations  of  the  Apocalypse 

(i)  By  the  Father.  The  Mystic  Punctuation  Point.  (2)  By  the 
Son.  A  Full  Seven.  (3)  By  the  Spirit.  A  Full  Seven.  Bene- 
diction by  the  Apocalyptist Pages  451-456. 


INTRODUCTION 


On  one  occasion  the  writer  of  this  Introduction  called  upon 
the  late  Rev.  Daniel  D.  Whedon,  D.D.,  at  his  office  in  New 
York  when  he  was  engaged  in  writing  his  commentary  on  the 
book  of  Revelation.  Dr.  Whedon  called  special  attention  to 
the  fact  that  he  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  value  of  the 
Apocalypse  of  John  for  the  ministry  of  the  church.  He  said 
that  he  was  taking  unusual  pains  with  it  because  he  believed 
that  for  the  next  quarter  of  a  century  this  book  would  be 
employed  more  largely  than  ever  before  in  the  Christian  pul- 
pit, and  he  was  anxious  that  the  ministers  who  read  it  should 
be  familiar  with  its  sublime  teachings. 

The  prediction  of  Dr.  Whedon  has  come  to  pass,  and  in  the 
recent  years  the  Apocalypse  of  Saint  John  has  received  the 
attention  which  it  deserves,  as  an  essential  part  of  the  Chris- 
tian revelation. 

As  a  matter  of  intellectual  interest  the  book  of  Revelation 
must  arrest  the  attention.  It  treats  of  the  sublimest  subjects 
in  a  style  so  different  from  our  ordinary  modes  of  thinking 
and  expression  that  at  first  the  mind  stumbles  at  it,  but  on 
closer  study  the  texture  of  the  book  itself,  its  orderly  arrange- 
ment, its  symbolism,  and  its  profound  thought  awakens  the 
interest  and  demands  the  most  profound  scholarship.  It  is 
not  the  mere  mystery  of  the  book  that  has  caused  so  many  com- 
mentaries to  be  written  upon  it,  but  it  is  because  those  who 
have  treated  it  have  felt  that  it  contains  a  message  not  only 
to  their  own  age,  but  to  subsequent  ages. 

The  book  of  Revelation  is  distinguished  for  its  symbolism. 
It  has  been  well  said  that,  except  the  first  three  chapters  and 


xii  Introduction 

perhaps  the  last  part  of  the  twenty-second  chapter  of  the  book, 
the  whole  language  is  that  of  symbol  drawn  from  the  Old 
Testament,  generally  from  the  realm  of  nature,  and  especially 
from  the  books  of  Ezekiel  and  Daniel.  To  understand  this 
book  requires  a  careful  study  of  all  the  anterior  Scriptures, 
and  thus  it  becomes  a  profound  intellectual  exercise. 

The  book  of  Revelation  is  full  of  Christ.  Some  of  its  sub- 
limest  teachings  have  to  do  w4th  the  Christ  whose  kingdom 
is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  whose  dominion  is  to  have  no 
end.  Under  its  symbolical  allusions  it  sets  forth  Christ  in  his 
various  offices,  and  in  his  person,  with  marvelous  distinctness. 
In  figurative  form  it  proclaims  his  divinity,  his  atonement, 
his  sufferings,  and  his  triumph.  The  book  contains  a  vision 
of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem;  and  whatever  emphasis  we  may 
put  upon  its  language  or  its  application  it  sets  forth  visions  of 
beauty  of  the  life  eternal  which  cannot  fail  to  stimulate  the 
imagination,  increase  the  piety,  and  enlarge  the  vision  of  the 
church  of  God. 

We  may  not  treat  of  the  various  forms  of  interpretation, 
the  preteristic,  the  continuous  historical,  or  the  futuristic. 
Each  one  has  had  many  advocates,  and  in  an  introduction  like 
this  it  is  unnecessary  to  attempt  to  choose  between  them.  The 
purpose  of  this  writing  is  not  to  analyze  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion, or  the  exposition  to  which  we  are  calling  attention,  but 
to  express  our  sense  of  the  importance  of  comprehending  its 
meaning,  and  to  point  out  the  new  aspect  under  which  the 
Apocalypse  is  viewed  in  the  work  now  under  consideration. 

The  author  of  this  commentary  has  given  to  it  long  and 
patient  study.  He  has  come  to  its  interpretation  with  a  pro- 
found interest  in  the  more  occult  phases  of  biblical  literature, 
as  shown  in  his  previous  writings,  notably  in  his  book  Through 
a  Glass  Darkly.  These  studies  have  enabled  him  to  get  a 
perspective  of  the  book  of  Revelation,  and  to  feel  its  force, 
and  to  appreciate  its  beauty  and  its  symbolism,  such  as  could 
not  otherwise  have  been  the  case.    The  author  has  looked  be- 


Introduction  xiii 

neath  the  surface,  and  has  produced  a  work  which  we  are 
confident  will  take  rank  among  the  foremost  scholarly  anal- 
yses in  all  the  literature  of  the  subject.  His  is  an  unfolding 
of  this  profound  mystery  especially  in  its  orderly  application, 
which  cannot  fail  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  careful  student 
and  preacher.  Whoever  reads  the  Revelation  of  Saint  John 
in  the  light  of  this  commentary  will  have  an  insight  into  its 
beauty,  and  a  new  appreciation  of  its  sublimity  of  style  and 
depth  of  meaning,  and  its  important  relation  to  the  kingdom 
of  God.  He  will  see  in  it  an  orderly  development  of  the 
divine  kingdom  in  the  world  such  as  cannot  fail  to  awaken 
fresh  interest  in  this  important  book  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  book  of  Revelation  as  presented  in  this  work  is  a  sub- 
lime discussion  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  its  essential  ele- 
ments, in  its  conflicts,  and  in  its  triumphs.  The  author  shows 
that  the  Apocalypse  is  not  a  series  of  disconnected  visions, 
but  a  sublime  portrait  of  God's  kingdom  in  the  world,  under 
the  guidance  of  God's  providence,  a^nd  issuing  in  a  lasting  vic- 
tory for  righteousness.  He  further  shows  that  it  is  wrought 
out  in  the  most  systematic  manner,  and  is  expressed  by  the 
sacred  numbers,  which  to  the  ordinary  reader  are  so  mysteri- 
ous, but  which,  when  viewed  in  the  light  which  his  interpre- 
tation puts  upon  them,  are  filled  not  only  with  beauty,  but  with 
symmetry  and  significance. 

He  has  discussed  with  great  care  the  types  and  symbols  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  especially  of  the '  prophets,  and  has 
shown  the  complete  harmony  between  the  Old  Testament 
eschatology  and  the  New.  We  are  confident  that  the  author 
has  presented  a  view  of  the  book  of  Revelation  fascinating 
in  its  style,  clear  in  its  analysis,  rich  in  its  interpretation,  and 
promotive  of  an  interest  in  this  sacred  Revelation  which  will 
cause  a  new  study  of  the  subject  on  the  part  of  everyone  who 
profoundly  reads  it.  An  earnest  study  of  this  book,  we  be- 
lieve, will  show  that  the  author  has  made  a  distinct  and 
important  contribution  to  the  interpretation  of  this  "The  Last 


xiv  Introduction 

Message  of  Jesus  Christ,"  which  completes  the  body  of  our 
sacred  Scriptures. 

It  affords  me  pleasure,  therefore,  to  commend  this  book 
not  only  to  ministers  of  the  gospel,  as  a  valuable  addition  to 
their  libraries  in  preparation  for  their  pastoral  labors,  but  to 
those  scholarly  men  and  women  who  are  anxious  to  study  the 
profound  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  symbolism 
of  the  Apocalypse. 

Henry  A.  Buttz. 

Drew  Theological  Seminary,  Madison,  N.  J. 


PREFATORY 


"  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  him:  righteousness  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne." — Psa.  97.  2. 

Competent  authority  asserts  that  more  than  twelve  hundred 
books,  besides  unnumbered  pamphlets  and  essays,  have  been 
called  forth  by  this  Apocalypse  which  closes  the  Book  of 
God.  That  there  has  been  such  signal  and  universal  failure 
to  master  its  occult  method  gives  ample  warning  that  this  field 
of  biblical  study  is  not  one  of  the  most  inviting  or  promising. 
The  many  wrecks  that  litter  this  strand  are  a  solemn  admoni- 
tion to  him  who  would  launch  upon  these  waters  that  navi- 
gation here  is  beset  by  many  perils. 

The  author  fully  appreciates  this  fact.  He  cannot  but  expect 
that  his  work  will  be  discounted  in  advance,  and  his  good 
judgment  questioned  for  presuming  to  venture  upon  this  tem- 
pestuous sea  of  apocalyptics.  If  he  were  minded  to  offer 
apology  he  might  say  that  he  "did  not  mean  to,"  but  that  the 
book  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of  years  of  study  in  this  per- 
plexing and  yet  entrancing  field.  Accepting  this  book  as  the 
final  utterance  of  the  sacred  canon,  he  saw  no  valid  reason 
either  for  ignoring  it  or  for  rating  it  as  an  unpractical  book. 
Once  entered  upon  the  study,  he  confesses  that  it  has  held 
him  with  a  fascination  that  refused  to  let  go.  He  therefore 
has  simply  done  what  he  could  toward  breaking  through  its 
weird  and  abstruse  nomenclature,  and  he  herein  presents  the 
results  of  his  study.  Delving  within  its  treasure  lodes  in 
search  of  hidden  wealth,  his  conviction  of  the  value  of  the 
book  has  steadily  appreciated,  both  its  matter  and  its  manner 
certifying  it  as  the  legitimate  and  climacteric  utterance  of  the 
spirit  of  prophecy.    What  he  has  brought  forth  seems  to  him 


2  Prefatory 

to  possess  sufficient  indications  of  gold  to  justify  this  resort 
to  the  alembic  of  public  criticism.  If  his  work  shall  prove 
futile,  and  he  be  sent  with  a  shivered  lance  to  join  the  ranks 
of  the  vanquished,  he  will  still  hope  that  it  may  not  have  been 
altogether  in  vain,  but  may  help  to  clear  the  field  of  apoc- 
alyptic impossibilities. 

Some  time  since  a  layman  called  his  pastor's  attention  to  a 
passage  in  the  Apocalypse,  saying,  ''Don't  you  think  that  this 
refers  to  unrestricted  immigration?"  To  which  the  pastor  re- 
plied, "Unrestricted  bosh."  ^  The  inquirer  was  silenced,  and  sent 
away  unhelped  in  his  quest  of  truth.  This  pastor,  a  man  of 
scholarly  attainments  and  of  most  genial  nature,  justified  his 
action  by  saying  that  the  Apocalypse  was  a  book  with  respect 
to  which  he  never  bothered  himself  and  on  which  he  had  noth- 
ing whatever  to  offer.  In  this  he  but  reflected  the  attitude  of 
the  theological  seminary  from  which  he  was  graduated.  One 
of  the  ablest  members  of  its  faculty  informed  the  writer  that 
no  two  of  them  held  the  same  views  with  respect  to  the  book, 
and  that  none  of  them  virtually  knew  anything  about  it.  The 
attitude  of  these  ripe  scholars  simply  reflects  the  settled  convic- 
tion of  helplessness  which  so  generally  prevails  among  sane 
expositors,  who  are  wont  to  look  upon  this  mighty  peroration 
of  the  Word  of  God  as  an  unfathomable  deep, 

"  Where  writhing  clouds  unroll, 
Striving  to  utter  themselves  in  shapes." 

In  the  face  of  such  an  attitude  as  this  toward  the  Apocalypse 
it  is  exceedingly  doubtful  whether  the  real  solution  would  find 
ready  acceptance  were  it  put  forth  to-morrow.  In  the  light  of 
past  history  it  seems  next  to  certain  that  a  solved  Apocalypse 
would  shine  for  a  considerable  time  in  a  darkness  that  would 
persistently  refuse  to  comprehend  it.  Hoary  ecclesiastical 
institutions  and  systems  built  upon  the  misconception  or  per- 
version of  truth  have  ever  proved  themselves  far  more  ready 
to  apply  the  thumbscrews  to  the  man  who  discovers  to  them 


Prefatory  3 

their  errors  than  they  have  been  to  abandon  them.  If  the  task 
of  apocalyptic  interpretation  had  been  an  easy  one  it  would 
have  been  accomplished  long  ago.  Truth  here,  for  some  wise 
purpose,  has  been  designedly  obscured  in  a  mystic  setting, 
and  its  disclosure  may  not  be  forced.  And  yet  we  should  not 
forget  that  the  book  has  a  purpose,  that  it  is  indeed  a  revela- 
tion of  "things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass,"  and  that 
the  ear  that  is  able  to  "hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches"  is  under  a  divine  command  to  reverently  listen. 

It  has  been  repeatedly  asked.  Why  should  this  Christian 
sphinx  confront  us  at  the  terminat  point  of  divine  revelation  ? 
Is  it  simply  that  the  seeker  for  the  truth  of  God  may  be  brought 
face  to  face  with  it  in  a  form  that  will  forever  mock,  madden, 
and  vanquish  him  ?  No,  not  this.  It  is  rather  the  final  expres- 
sion of  a  great  generic  principle  which  dominates  the  Book  of 
God  from  beginning  to  end,  and  which  eVer  puts  forth  its 
stupendous  issues  under  the  cover  of  like  transcendent  veilings. 
Its  title  is  not  a  misnomer.  It  must  be  what  it  professes  to 
be — a  divine  Revelation  in  the  hand  of  the  glorified  Christ; 
for  he  cannot  be  conceived  of  as  punctuating  his  glorious 
gospel  with  an  insoluble  body  of  mysticism.  As  his  final  word, 
it  is  the  greatest  parable  that  ever  fell  from  his  lips — the  cul- 
mination of  all  his  parables,  as  of  all  previous  prophecy.  The 
seals  which  seem  so  forbidding  here  are  no  more  firmly  fixed 
than  were  those  which  have  so  largely  fallen  from  the  scroll 
of  Messianic  prophecy.  The  consistencies  which  are  so  easily 
traced  are  a  powerful  attestation  of  the  unity  of  the  plan  which 
pervades  the  entire  body  of  Holy  Writ. 

When  Daniel  set  himself  to  the  task  of  studying  the  proph- 
ecies that  were  at  hand  in  his  day  he  was  not  repelled,  but 
encouraged,  and  his  efforts  were  crowned  with  most  blessed 
results.  Thus  with  the  study  of  the  Apocalypse.  It  opens 
with  the  triple  assurance  of  blessing  to  all  who  may  set  them- 
selves to  the  task  of  studying  it.  How  great  may  be  the  bene- 
faction which  it  holds  we  may  not  know  until  the  properly 


4  Prefatory 

sensitized  ear  may  fully  apprehend  "what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 
the  churches."  When  we  consider  how  the  aroma  of  this 
book  has  diffused  itself  throughout  the  entire  sphere  of  Chris- 
tian thought  and  hope,  dominating  its  expression  and  molding 
its  eschatological  conceptions,  we  can  scarcely  conceive  the 
extent  of  our  loss  should  it  finally  be  discredited  and  thrown 
out  of  the  Scripture  canon.  It  can  hardly  be  questioned  that 
its  last  three  chapters  exert  a  far  greater  influence  upon  the 
average  mind  with  respect  to  the  blessedness  of  the  future 
state  than  any  other  like  portion  of  the  Bible.  Let  it  be 
granted  that  its  method  is  transcendent  and  its  correct  inter- 
pretation the  despair  of  the  scholar;  that  it  has  been  misunder- 
stood, abused,  and  used  to  bolster  up  the  wildest  schemes  of 
fanaticism ;  still  this  should  not  be  considered  sufficient  excuse 
for  its  being  shelved  by  the  Protestant  theologian.  We  should 
not  forget  that  the  great  saving  truths  of  our  faith  which  we 
so  lovingly  cherish  to-day  have  been  as  sadly  perverted  as 
any  of  the  symbolism  of  the  Apocalypse  may  be  conceived 
to  be  at  the  present  time.  It  is  but  yesterday  that  the  Bible 
itself  was  dug  out  from  underneath  the  accumulated  rubbish 
of  a  thousand  years  of  sacerdotalism.  The  same  specious  rea- 
soning which  is  now  applied  to  this  book  as  an  excuse  for  the 
neglect  of  its  study — namely,  that  it  is  unpractical,  and  cannot 
be  understood  by  the  average  mind — is  in  like  manner  urged 
against  the  Bible  as  a  whole  by  those  who  would  take  it  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  masses.  The  results  of  such  teaching  have 
been  that  millions  professing  the  Christian  name  are  as  densely 
ignorant  of  the  great  vital  truths  of  our  holy  religion  as  we  can 
possibly  be  with  respect  to  the  occult  utterances  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse. That  we  are  to-day  translating  the  Bible  into  all  the 
cosmopolitan  languages  of  earth — instead  of  making  a  bonfire 
of  it — results  from  the  fact  that  some  one  had  the  courage  in 
the  past  to  brave  public  opinion  and  dig  down  through  the 
accumulated  rubbish  of  ecclesiasticism  and  exhume  the  pre- 
cious book.     Let  us  but  emulate  these  heroic  spirits  to  whom 


Prefatory  5 

we  owe  so  much,  dig  a  little  deeper,  unmindful  either  of  scho- 
lastic disdain  or  of  fanatical  vociferation,  and  the  results  may 
be  an  exhumed  Apocalypse.  The  cry  of  outraged  truth,  writh- 
ing upon  the  rack  of  the  destructive  criticism,  and  the  needs  of 
a  half  enlightened  church,  moribund  and  helpless  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  issues  of  the  hour,  unite  to  spur  us  forward  with 
pick  and  shovel. 

No  book  of  the  Bible  presents  more  forcible  claims  to  in- 
spiration. Its  introductory  statement  asserts  that  it  is  *'The 
Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave  unto  him,  to  show 
unto  his  servants  things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass." 
If  this  statement  be  true  it  establishes  two  most  important 
facts:  the  divine  origin  of  the  book  and  its  design — that  of 
disclosing  to  the  church  the  impending  issues  of  the  Christian 
age.  To  accept  this  divine  authentication  and  then  to  rate  the 
book  as  unpractical  is  to  concede  with  respect  to  one  book  at 
least  what  the  Romish  hierarchy  urges  against  all.  If  it  is 
not  in  reality  what  it  claims  to  be — a  divine  Apocalypse — then 
it  is  an  apocryphal  fraud,  and  should  be  cast  out  of  the  received 
canon.  The  mere  fact  that  we  accept  it  carries  with  it  the 
obligation  to  at  least  make  the  attempt  to  properly  interpret 
its  message. 

The  vision  of  the  Old  Testament  prophet  swept  forward 
through  the  glorious  day  of  the  progress  and  final  triumph 
of  the  Messianic  kingdom,  which  would  not  only  restore 
lost  Israel,  but  would  finally  embrace  the  whole  race  within 
the  scope  of  its  divine  beneficence.  That  this  prophetic 
concept  was  far  too  lofty  for  the  thought  of  the  time 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  even  the  enlightened  Augus- 
tan age  utterly  failed  to  grasp  or  comprehend  it  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  credentials  which  authenticated  its  inauguration. 
In  the  face  of  this  fact  it  should  not  be  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  even  the  twentieth  century  should  still  be  wrestling  with 
this  great  final  utterance  of  the  Bible,  which  is  a  transcendent 
prophecy  from  the  lips  of  the  glorified  Christ.     The  majesty 


6  Prefatory 

of  his  divine  personality,  as  it  is  disclosed  in  the  opening 
vision  of  the  book,  avouches  the  character  of  the  utterance 
which  may  be  expected  to  follow.  With  eyes  flaming  as  the 
lightnings  he  takes  the  sweep  of  the  ages,  and  with  voice  as 
the  sound  of  many  waters  he  articulates  with  lingual  sword, 
through  lips  that  have  tasted  death,  his  sublime  message  to 
the  church  universal ;  and  then  from  a  still  higher  plane,  amid 
flashing  lightnings,  roaring  thunders,  and  mysterious  voices, 
he  puts  forth  the  profounder  symbolism  which  relates  to  the 
establishment  of  his  eternal  kingdom.  Marvelous  indeed  would 
be  the  fact  if  such  a  production  as  this  came  to  us  from  the 
brain  of  the  illiterate  fisherman  of  Galilee. 

It  does  not  fall  within  the  province  of  this  study  to  discuss 
the  date  of  the  writing  of  the  Apocalypse,  nor  to  dwell  upon 
the  reasons  which  lead  the  author  to  reject  the  Neronian 
theory  for  the  traditional  view.  The  first  century  is  near 
its  close.  All  the  apostles  save  this  lone  centenarian  are  dead, 
and  he  is  in  banishment  upon  the  lonely  isle  of  Patmos,  as 
he  tells  us,  for  the  faith  of  Christ.  The  church  is  still  in 
its  infancy,  and  in  the  eyes  of  the  governing  power  is  only 
a  pestilential  superstition  among  the  slaves  and  lower  classes 
which  in  due  time  increased  Roman  severity  will  stamp  out. 
Horrifying  persecution  has  deluged  the  Roman  arena  with 
Christian  blood.  The  survivors  of  the  church  of  the  Naza- 
rene  are  hiding  in  the  Catacombs.  The  insidious  workings 
of  corruption  within  the  church  itself  threaten  to  extinguish 
the  truth.  Out  of  this  vale  of  humiliation  there  arises  the 
sublimest  vision  of  the  coming  victory  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  and  of  its  final  triumph  in  the  world  that  anywhere 
appears  within  the  entire  scope  of  the  Word  of  God.  As  the 
aged  apostle  sits  in  that  rocky  grotto  which  tradition  still 
associates  with  his  name  his  vision  becomes  strangely  elevated, 
and  with  mighty  sweep  courses  through  the  coming  ages  and 
away  to  the  end  of  time.  The  barren  rocks  are  about  him. 
The  sea,  with  its  white-capped  waves  like  ever-moving  sen- 


Prefatory  7 

tincls,  surrounds  and  holds  him  prisoner.  It  is  the  morning 
of  the  day  upon  which  Christ  arose  from  the  dead,  the  day 
upon  which  he  was  wont  to  appear  unto  his  disciples  after 
his  resurrection.  Loyal  to  Christian  custom,  the  aged  John 
turns  his  face  toward  the  cross  and  empty  tomb.  Unseen 
hands  for  the  time  loose  his  captive  chains,  a  sunburst  of 
divine  glory  envelops  him,  and  Christ  himself  once  more 
stands  disclosed.  With  him  his  unfettered  spirit  walks  in  the 
midst  of  the  churches  and  then  soars  to  celestial  realms  to 
stand  in  the  presence  of  the  Eternal  Throne.  Thence,  away 
through  scenes  of  terrific  grandeur,  to  the  sunlit  domes  of  a 
glorious  city  whose  gates  of  pearl  swing  back  to  disclose 
streets  of  gold,  river  of  life,  throne  of  light,  and  thronging  its 
avenues  unnumbered  millions  washed  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.  The  glorified  Christ  stands  in  the  forefront  of  the 
vision ;  the  Eternal  Father,  veiled  in  mystic  splendor,  is 
throned  above  the  lightnings  and  thunders;  a  mighty  Angel, 
robed  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  with  the  sunlit  face  of  the 
Alpha  and  Omega,  rises  to  view — completing  a  series  of  sub- 
lime epiphany  that  unquestionably  touches  the  mighty  deep 
of  the  Holy  Trinity.  He  hears  the  strains  of  a  music  that 
starts  from  the  throbbing  heart  of  the  universe,  and  is  caught 
up  by  the  lips  of  angels  and  then  borne  upon  the  harps  of  a 
great  white-robed  throng  whom  no  man  can  number ;  whence, 
as  the  surging  of  many  waters  and  as  the  deep  roll  of  great 
thunder,  it  breaks  at  the  feet  of  the  Lamb  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  He  beholds  breaking  seals,  and 
strange  horsemen  riding  forth  into  the  field  of  action,  with 
the  spectral  figures  of  Death  and  Hades  as  the  terminal  horror 
of  the  destructive  cavalcade.  The  realms  of  the  Unseen  open, 
and  he  beholds  the  disembodied  spirits  of  the  martyred  dead 
and  hears  their  plaintive  pleadings  for  justice  in  the  presence 
of  the  Eternal  Throne.  The  earth  quakes,  the  sun  turns 
black  in  the  heavens,  and  the  stars  are  swept  out  of  their 
places,  while  mountains  fall  and  islands  flee  before  the  pres- 


8  Prefatory 

ence  of  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  in  the  awful  day 
of  the  wrath  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  The  earth  is  scorched 
by  fire  and  swept  by  a  tempest  of  hail  and  blood.  Its  foun- 
tains and  rivers  are  poisoned  and  its  seas  crimsoned,  while 
a  strange  eclipse  falls  over  every  light  of  the  heavens.  A 
Fallen  Star  opens  the  bottomless  pit  and  its  smoke  darkens  the 
heavens,  while  uncouth  infernals  swarm  out  of  it  and  go 
forth  upon  their  malignant  mission.  Two  hundred  millions 
of  lion-headed,  serpent-tailed  horses,  breathing  smoke,  fire, 
and  brimstone,  rise  out  of  the  great  Euphrates  and  sweep 
through  the  earth  as  a  billowy  wave  of  death  and  destruction. 
A  sun-robed,  star-crowned  Woman  is  disclosed,  in  the  heav- 
enly spaces,  in  the  pangs  of  maternity,  trembling  with  fear 
before  the  hungry  maw  of  a  great  red  dragon  waiting  to 
devour  her  child  as  soon  as  it  should  be  born.  The  dragon  is 
balked,  and  the  newborn  babe  is  caught  up  unto  God  and  unto 
his  throne.  A  multiheaded,  multihorned  monster  rises  from 
the  sea.  He  is  throned  by  the  devil,  and  supported  by  a 
dragon-animated  creature  of  like  sulphurous  character.  As 
the  culminating  horror  of  the  book  we  have  the  Mother  of 
Harlots  riding  in  state  upon  the  back  of  this  monster  of  the 
sea,  drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints,  heading  for  the  thun- 
der-roads of  divine  retribution  and  the  lake  of  eternal  burnings. 
This  is  one  side  of  the  picture.  There  is  another — one  in  which 
the  figures  which  move  before  us  are  placed  in  sublime  an- 
tithesis to  these  horrid  correlates  of  the  pit.  As  the  vision  of 
the  prophets  swept  through  this  apocalyptic  region  they  marked 
as  with  pillars  of  light  the  outlines  of  a  divine  kingdom 
that  would  triumph  over  all  rivalries  and  stand  forever. 
The  Christ  of  the  Apocalypse  is  as  loyal  to  the  prophets  here 
amid  the  solitudes  of  Patmos  as  he  was  on  the  road  to 
Emmaus  or  the  hillsides  of  GaHlee.  Here  under  the  hand  of 
the  King  himself  the  kingdom  rises  to  view.  And  the  sacred 
oath  of  Jehovah  is  verified;  for  Israel,  with  the  seal  of  God 
in  their  foreheads,  stand  consistently  at  its  head.     We  lose 


Prefatory  9 

them  in  the  sunrise  and  find  them  again  upon  the  mount,  and 
in  indissoluble  union  with  the  crucified  Christ.  We  behold 
them  deployed  upon  the  field  of  battle  where  the  whole  world 
stands  arrayed  against  them.  We  follow  them  onward 
through  the  crash  of  this  terrific  struggle,  and  finally  see 
them  march  out  of  it  with  a  shout  of  triumph  before  which 
a  hundred  millions  of  angels  fall  prostrate  in  the  dust,  while 
the  heavenly  voices  proclaim  that  "the  kingdom  of  this  world 
is  become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ."  At 
last  a  "great  white  throne"  flames  in  the  heavens.  Before  it 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  flee  away,  while  the  trump  of  God 
wakes  the  sleeping  dead  to  face  the  rumbling  thunders  of 
judgment.  Solemn  the  assize  in  the  presence  of  the  opened 
books  upon  whose  decision  hangs  the  destiny  of  the  unnum- 
bered millions  who  must  pass  before  the  inexorable  decrees 
of  the  Eternal.  Beyond  this  most  solemn  scene  a  new  heaven 
and  a  new  earth,  and  visions  of  unfolding  beauty  culminating 
in  a  transcendent  figure  whose  cubic  splendor  stands  as  the 
most  sublime  conception  that  has  ever  ravished  human  thought. 
It  is  a  whelming  mass  of  jeweled  glory  from  which  death  has 
been  forever  banished,  and  all  tears  forever  wiped  away. 

Lofty  symbolism  this.  Even  John  himself  may  not  have 
understood  it,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  for  him,  as  for 
us,  it  held  not  only  the  promised  blessing  but  also  the  full 
assurance  of  the  final  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in 
the  earth.  How  it  must  have  thrilled  these  despised  slaves, 
as  they  thronged  the  Catacombs  or  hid  in  the  dens  and  caves 
of  the  earth,  when  they  thought  of  the  day  when  the  heavens 
would  flame  with  the  wrath  of  God  and  the  Lamb!  Facing 
the  infuriated  populace,  who  gathered  around  them  like  so 
many  tigers  eager  to  tear  them  in  pieces,  the  serenity  of  their 
faith  astonished  the  world.  Condemned  by  judges  in  whose 
breasts  there  lingered  no  trace  of  humanity  nor  sense  of 
shame,  dying  on  crosses,  at  the  stake,  torn  by  the  teeth  of 
lions,  while  the  more  bloodthirsty  beasts  without  the  arena 


10  Prefatory 

roared  their  fiendish  joy,  there  was  a  solar  Hght  in  their  faces 
which  at  times  hushed  the  brutal  throng  to  silence.  They 
looked  upward,  through  this  sublime  vision  of  Saint  John,  and 
saw  the  opening  gates  of  a  blessed  immortality.  They  knew 
that  the  day  was  coming  when  that  faith  which  these  Roman 
demons  were  now  trampling  down  in  their  insane  fury  would 
whelm  every  throne  on  earth  and  shake  the  globe  itself  with 
the  glad  thunderings  of  its  triumph.  Though  we  may  not 
be  able  to  understand  fully  the  mighty  symbols  which  here 
dazzle  our  vision,  we  can  no  more  mistake  their  meaning  than 
the  infant  can  that  of  the  smile  which  beams  down  upon  it 
as  it  lies  upon  the  breast  of  its  mother. 

We  stand  under  the  vault  of  the  midnight.  We  cannot 
touch  one  of  its  stars  nor  fathom  the  mystery  that  lies  back 
of  them;  yet  how^  they  thrill  and  whelm  us  with  their  glory! 
So  let  us  devoutly  stand  in  the  presence  of  the  flamings  of  this 
mighty  Apocalypse. 


THE 
LAST  MESSAGE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST 


PROLEGOMENA 


The  Plan  of  the  Apocalypse 

That  it  does  not  lie  upon  the  surface  of  the  symboHsm,  but 
is  itself  one  of  its  profundities,  is  evidenced  in  the  signal  and 
universal  failure  to  discover  it.  The  mathematical  principle 
that  governs  the  enunciation  of  the  Epistles,  Seals,  Trumpets, 
and  Vials  clearly  quadrates  the  book  in  a  manner  that  fairly 
determines  its  grand  divisions.  We  shall  also  find  this  same 
numeric  factor  looking  out  upon  us  from  a  multitude  of  points 
in  the  minor  divisions  and  subsections  in  a  way  that  intimates 
that  the  mastery  of  its  significance  v^ill  be  found  essential  to 
the  satisfactory  prosecution  of  our  study.  The  voice  of  mys- 
tery which  falls  upon  our  ears  at  the  threshold  in  the  Stars  and 
Candlesticks  warns  us  that  we  are  not  here  dealing  with  didac- 
tic or  hortatory  prose,  but  with  the  transcendent  masterpiece 
whose  deep,  dark,  and  whelming  nomenclature  crowns  and 
completes  the  message  of  the  Book  of  God. 

We  must  free  ourselves  as  far  as  possible  from  the  puerile 
misconceptions  of  a  voluminous  literature  which  from  time 
immemorial  has  thralled  interpretation  and  beclouded  the  true 
grandeur  of  the  book.  Lack  of  great  learning  should  not 
be  considered  a  bar  to  candid  inquiry.  The  book  is  not  so 
much  addressed  to  the  scholarly  mind  as  to  the  divinely  quick- 
ened ear  and  a  clarified  spiritual  vision.  The  desired  solution 
is  therefore  just  as  likely  to  come  through  the  door  of  the 
closet  as  through  that  of  the  theological  school.     We  must 


12  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

beware  of  presumption.  The  book  is  addressed  to  him  "that 
hath  an  ear."  Our  attitude  should  be  that  of  a  devout  waiting 
in  the  outer  court  of  this  great  mystic  temple  till  assured  that 
we  have  in  some  measure  the  necessary  qualification  for  pass- 
ing within  its  gates.  If  we  fail  to  become  en  rapport  with 
our  theme  at  the  threshold  it  will  be  useless  to  proceed  with  the 
hope  of  throwing  much  light  upon  the  more  elaborate  sym- 
bolism that  lies  yet  farther  on.  When  we  lay  mere  scholar- 
ship aside,  and  our  faces  in  the  dust,  strange  flashes  of  light 
begin  to  come  as  it  were  through  the  fringes  of  the  veil,  as 
the  earnest  of  the  divine  splendors  concealed  behind  its  im- 
penetrable foldings. 

That  the  Book  of  God  should  culminate  in  such  a  sublime 
body  of  mysticism  should  occasion  no  surprise.  .  It  is  but  the 
characteristic  reflex  of  that  mystery  that  looks  out  upon  us 
from  every  portion  of  the  universe  and  veils  the  being  of 
God  himself.  This  method  is  not  unique  with  John.  It  is  but 
the  culmination  of  an  extended  series  of  biblical  apocalyptics 
which  anticipate  and  prepare  the  way  for  this  sublime  mas- 
terpiece. The  lofty  soarings  of  Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  Daniel,  the 
ideographic  beauties  of  Canticles,  Habakkuk,  and  other  writ- 
ings, are  a  prophecy  of  the  coming  of  a  production  which 
would  surpass  them  all.  In  this  book  we  have  it.  The  organic 
structure  of  the  New  Testament,  and,  in  fact,  of  the  Bible  as 
a  whole,  clearly  demands  just  such  a  culmination  as  this  to 
consistently  and  worthily  complete  what  has  gone  before.  Its 
incompleteness  becomes  painfully  evident  the  moment  we  sever 
from  it  this  masterly  Apocalypse  of  Saint  John.  As  the  post- 
resurrection  utterance  of  Jesus  Christ  it  is  the  greatest  of  all 
prophecies  and  the  mightiest  parable  that  ever  fell  from  his 
lips;  it  is  the  summation  of  all  the  parables  and  the  complete 
elaboration  of  his  great  Eschatological  Address,  the  correlate 
significance  of  which  will  later  appear. 

The  pictographic  method  of  the  Apocalypse  is  not  essen- 
tially different   from  ordinary  writing.     Words   are   simply 


Prolegomena  13 

visible  forms  for  the  incarnation  of  thought;  the  symbols  of 
the  Apocalypse  are  but  larger  words,  whose  significance  and 
inflection  must  be  brought  under  the  governance  of  ascer- 
tained law.  Until  this  is  done  we  shall  have  a  continuance 
of  the  inane  jumble  that  has  been  put  forth  in  the  name  of 
exposition. 

An  Apocalyptic  Lexicon?  Hardly,  as  yet;  though  that 
may  appear  as  a  possibility  farther  on,  as  the  symbols,  roots, 
derivatives,  governing  exponents,  structural  markings,  recur- 
rent, associate,  correlate,  and  antithetic,  are  classified  and  their 
inflexible  character  demonstrated.  These  governing  mystic 
numbers,  like  the  coefficients  of  an  algebraic  problem,  present 
features  which  suggest  the  known  factor  as  introducing  the 
unknown  quantity,  and  with  a  mystic  inflexibility  as  rigid  as 
that  of  pure  mathematics.  The  great  number  is  the  mystic 
seven,  which  may  be  referred  to  as  "the  septad."  The  signifi- 
cance of  its  office  may  perhaps  be  best  illustrated  at  this  point 
in  the  fact  that  it  is  shown  to  limit  the  leading  factors  of  the 
dramatis  personce  as  it  does  also  the  lines  of  the  great  drama 
in  which  they  are  projected  into  the  field  of  action.  The 
following  diagram  will  present  a  comprehensive  statement 
of  the  principle  involved : 

Comprehensive  Diagram  of  the  Plan  of  the  Apocalypse 

The  Dramatis  Persons,  or  Great  Seven 

(i)   The  Christophany — The   Son. 

(i)  The  Trinity \  ^^)  ^^^^  Theophany— The  Father. 

(3)   The       Pneumatophany  —  The 
Holy  Ghost. 

(2)  The  Kingdom....  i  (4)  The    Rasilophany-Zion    per- 

\  sonified. 

r  (5)   The    Satanophany — The 

I  Dragon. 

(3)  The  Antitrinity.  -l  (6)  The  Theriophany — The  Beast. 

I   (7)   The  Pseudo-Prophetophany — 
I  The  False  Prophet. 


14  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Retributive  Trilogy 

(4)  The  Holy  Ghost  vs.  the  Babylonian  Harlot. 

(5)  The  Militant  Christ  vs.  Beast,  False  Prophet,  and  Kings. 

(6)  The  Throne  of  God  vs.  the  Dragon. 

(7)  The  Glory  of  the  Bride 

The  Angels  of  the  ApocALvrsE 
Are  they  literal  angels?  just  seven  shining  stars  that  descend 
from  the  galaxy  of  the  heavens  to  participate  in  the  panoramic 
development  of  the  Apocalypse?  ready  to  head  churches  or 
to  go  with  trumpet  or  vial  or  with  swift  wing  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth  with  the  everlasting  gospel  of  Christ?  We  see 
them  first  as  the  gleaming  stars  in  the  hand  of  the  figure  of 
the  Christophany,  from  whence  with  an  easy  grace  they  glide 
into  position  in  the  different  series  to  perform  their  office,  and 
depart  before  we  are  sufficiently  recovered  from  the  spell  their 
presence  casts  over  us  to  say  to  them,  like  Jacob  of  old, 
"I  pray  thee,  tell  me  thy  name."  When  the  last  scene  of  the 
great  drama  is  fading  away  John  does,  for  the  moment,  fix 
his  attention  upon  the  personality  of  the  golden-girdled  angel 
which  showed  him  "these  things."  He  falls  before  him  in 
worship,  but  meets  with  rebuke.  Not  that  there  may  not  be 
divinity  in  the  figure,  but  there  is  more  in  it  than  divinity. 
While  he  refuses  the  homage  proffered,  the  reasons  are  given 
in  trinitarian  S3a'nbol.  The  rebuke  bans  all  invocation  of  either 
saints  or  angels — and  so  the  possibility  of  worshiping  Satan 
himself,  who  has  power  to  transform  himself  into  an  angel  of 
light. 

We  must  throw  off  the  thrall  of  literalism  with  respect  to 
the  lights  of  the  Apocalypse  as  well  as  its  shadows.  Only 
imbecility  can  conceive  the  latter  as  literalisms.  For  instance, 
the  nondescript  figure  that  emerges  from  the  smoke  of  the  bot- 
tomless pit — locust,  horse,  man,  woman,  scorpion,  child  of  the 
devil — none  can  have  the  hardihood  to  accept  as  a  physical 
reality.     The  same  may  be  said  of  the  lion-headed,  serpent- 


Prolegomena  15 

tailed  horse  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  great  seven-headed  mon- 
ster of  the  sea  whose  original  stamping  ground  is  within  the 
literally  inconceivable  pit  that  has  no  bottom.  Literalism  does 
not  make  much  headway  with  the  figures  disclosed  in  the  three 
divine  epiphanies ;  every  one  of  them  transcends  literality.  But 
these  angels  are  the  bishops  of  the  seven  churches,  Timothy, 
Polycarp,  etc.,  while  the  two  witnesses  are  also  men,  possibly 
Enoch  and  Elijah,  who  are  yet  to  come  back  to  earth  and  pay 
the  penalty  passed  upon  all  men  on  account  of  sin.  They  are 
real  men,  though  it  is  not  to  be  readily  explained  that  they 
have  ability  to  breathe  forth  fire  in  flash  sufficient  to  kill  their 
enemies,  though  not  able  to  stand  before  this  frisky  three- 
year-old  that  comes  forth  of  the  fiery  depths  of  the  bottomless 
pit.  Pressed  hard  with  the  logic  of  the  situation,  the  literalist 
may  modify  his  contention  so  far  as  to  admit  that  these  arbi- 
trary numeral  half  sevens  may  possibly  be  intended,  by  the 
year-day  method,  to  cover  the  literal  period  of  twelve  hundred 
and  sixty  years,  but  if  we  attempt  to  take  the  same  liberty  with 
the  millennium  we  are  met  with  a  thunderous  volume  of  pro- 
test. The  thousand  years  are  literal  and  only  literal,  and  our 
Lord  will  surely  return  to  reign  throughout  this  rounded  period 
upon  this  earth.  And  the  New  Jerusalem  is  also  strictly  literal, 
though  it  is  both  city  and  bride,  and  descends  from  God,  out 
of  heaven,  in  cubic  massiveness,  and  settles  into  position  in  the 
new  earth,  without  so  much  as  ever  displacing  one  of  its  pearly 
gates  or  jewels  that  blaze  in  its  twelve  foundations.  Let  us 
pause  here  at  the  threshold  of  this  series  and  listen  again  to 
the  warning  seven  times  given :  ''He  that  hath  an  car,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches.'' 

The  importance  of  the  several  factors  of  this  Great  Seven 
is  such,  especially  with  respect  to  their  proper  identification, 
personality,  or  office,  that  a  brief  statement  touching  some  of 
the  grounds  of  identification  with  regard  to  each  will  be  most 
helpful  to  the  reader  as  he  enters  upon  the  more  detailed  study 
of  the  book. 


i6  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

1.  The  Christophany. — This  majestic  figure  leads  in  the 
spectacular  deployment  of  the  Great  Seven.  It  is  introduced 
by  two  exponential  paragraphs  each  presenting  a  characteristic 
septad.  It  stands  within  the  circle  of  seven  lampstands  and 
holds  in  its  right  hand  seven  stars.  Both  of  these  associate 
figures  are  metamorphic ;  the  one  immediately  transforming  into 
the  seven  churches  and  the  other  into  their  seven  ministering 
angels,  symbols  which  involve  a  "mystery"  which  courses 
through  the  entire  series  of  the  seven  epistles  which  comprise 
the  "Book  of  the  Christophany."  The  mobility  of  these  asso- 
ciate figures  asserts  a  principle.  The  Christophanic  figure  itself 
is  also  metamorphic,  though  inflexible  in  its  relation  to  the 
series  which  it  dominates.  It  will  be  found  transformed  in 
each  progressive  phase  of  the  unfolding  panorama.  It  identi- 
fies itself  as  the  once  crucified  but  now  risen  and  glorified 
Christ.  It  displays  a  trinitarian  symbolism  in  the  snowy  crown 
of  the  "Ancient  of  Days"  and  the  sharp  two-edged  sword  which 
articulates  its  message.  Its  book  develops  under  the  hand  of  a 
human  amanuensis  and  is  sent  to  the  churches. 

2.  The  Theophany. — The  scene  of  the  Christophany  is 
terrestrial.  We  now  ascend  "in  the  Spirit"  to  the  celestial 
sphere  to  behold  "the  Theophany,"  the  ranking  one  of  these 
characteristic  epiphanies.  The  figure  first  to  rise  to  view  is  a 
throne,  and  One  seated  upon  it  who  is  unnamed,  but  whom 
the  ceaseless  chant  proclaims  as  the  Lord  God  Almighty,  whose 
incomprehensible  being  fills  the  eternities. 

The  symbolism  here  employed  is  retrospective  of  the  second 
exponential  paragraph  of  the  Christophany  with  suggestion 
of  a  governing  correlation.  This  sublime  personality  the  apoc- 
alyptist  makes  no  attempt  to  describe.  He  sits  mute  upon  this 
awful  throne  throughout  the  entire  course  of  the  panorama, 
and  until  the  material  frame  itself  dissolves  in  the  presence 
of  the  flamings  of  judgment.  Though  mute  himself,  his  throne 
is  both  vocal  and  active,  sending  forth  fierce  lightnings,  mys- 
terious voices,  and  terrifying  thunders.     The  teaching  points 


Prolegomena  17 

that  stand  out  in  the  Theophany  may  be  only  briefly  adverted 
to  here.  The  central  and  ranking  characterization,  like  the 
figure  of  the  Christophany,  is  complex.  It  is,  first,  a  throne 
with  trinitarian  voicings,  and  above  and  upon  it  trinitarian 
chromatic  splendors ;  two  of  them  blending  in  executive  posi- 
tion upon  it,  the  other  an  unbroken  emerald  circlet  of  glory 
round  about  it.  In  the  development  of  the  Christophany,  with- 
out doing  violence  to  its  distinct  enunciations,  we  may  recog- 
nize the  presence  of  the  governing  septad.  Here  also  the 
same  feature  may  be  as  clearly  discerned,  though  perhaps  not 
too  positively  asserted.  These  seven  distinct  features  of  the 
Theophany  may  be  named  as  follows:  (i)  The  throned  Eter- 
nal; (2)  The  Rainbow  round  about  the  throne;  (3)  The 
Twenty-four  Elders,  also  round  about  the  throne;  (4)  the 
Concerted  Throne  Utterances.  This  presents  the  Quadrate. 
Next,  the  Triad:  (5)  The  Seven  Spirits  before  the  throne; 
(6)  the  Crystal  Sea,  also  before  the  throne;  (7)  the  Four  Zoa, 
or  living  creatures,  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  and  round  about 
the  throne,  who  ceaselessly  chant  their  trisagion  of  praise. 
The  reader  will  note  that  the  Seven  Spirits  metamorphose 
from  the  Seven  Lamps,  which  are  reminiscent  of  the  Lamp- 
stands  of  the  Christophany. 

The  Dual  Phase  of  the  Theophany. —  (i)  Ontological.  The 
Christophany,  though  preceded  by  dual  exponential  paragraphs, 
is,  nevertheless,  followed  by  a  single  septad:  the  Seven  Epis- 
tles which  enunciate  its  message.  The  Theophany  in  a  signifi- 
cant manner  breaks  upon  us  without  any  antecedent  voicings. 
It  divides  into  two  coordinate  sections,  both  presented  in  har- 
mony with  the  same  governing  numeric  principle.  They  deal 
with  the  two  greatest  themes  that  are  within  the  range  of  human 
thought:  the  eternal  God,  enthroned  above  the  universe  which 
he  has  created,  and  an  eternal  kingdom  grounded  in  the  vicari- 
ous sacrifice  of  the  eternal  Son.  The  first  scene  in  the  The- 
ophany, therefore,  may  be  conceived  as  creational,  taking  the 
full  range  of  being  in  its  symbols,  from  atoms  up  to  the  throne. 


1 8  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

(2)  Redemptorial.  The  second  phase  of  the  Theophany  intro- 
duces the  figure  of  the  Christophany  metamorphosed.  The 
snowy  crown  has  given  place  to  seven  horns,  the  sharp  two- 
edged  sword  to  that  of  the  distributive  symbol  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  omnipotent  power  of  Jehovah  and  the  omniscience 
of  the  eternal  Spirit  combine  in  the  figure  of  the  Lamb,  stand- 
ing before  the  throne  as  it  had  been  slain.  A  sealed  book — 
that  of  the  Theophany — lies  upon  a  hand  extended  from  the 
throne,  with  the  whole  universe  silent  and  in  despair  in  the 
presence  of  its  seven  unbroken  seals.  The  Lamb  prevails  to 
open  the  book  and  the  universe  goes  wild  with  joy ;  the  strains 
of  a  new  song  are  heard  coming  from  the  lips  of  a  redeemed 
humanity,  the  circling  ranks  of  angels  break  through  the 
mystic  veilings  and  join  in  the  tumultuous  scene,  while  every 
sentient  creature,  in  heaven,  earth,  under  the  earth,  and  in  the 
sea,  gives  equal  worship  to  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne 
and  to  the  Lamb. 

The  seven  phases  of  this  coordinate  section  may  be  outlined 
as  follows:  (i)  The  sealed  book  of  the  Theophany;  (2)  the 
whole  universe  impotent  before  it;  (3)  the  triumph  of  the 
Lamb.  It  is  to  be  noted  here  that  the  order  of  enunciation 
seems  to  be  reversed,  the  triad  preceding  the  quadrate,  which 
consists  of:  (4)  The  united  worship  of  the  zoa  and  the  elders; 
(5)  worship  of  the  angels;  (6)  worship  of  universal  sentient 
being;  (7)  final  action  of  the  zoa  and  the  elders. 

These  dual  exponential  voicings  which  are  introductory  to 
the  exploiting  of  the  panorama  of  the  book  of  the  Theophany 
anticipate  the  fact  that  the  book  itself  is  a  duality,  consisting 
of  a  leading  series  of  sevens  and  of  a  Contrastive  Counterpart 
of  equal  scope  and  design.  An  important  advance  upon  the 
plan  of  the  series  of  the  Epistles  is  to  be  farther  noted  in  the 
fact  that  the  Seal  series  not  only  breaks  into  dual  sections,  but 
that  the  content  of  its  seventh  member  expands  into  a  third 
major  scries — that  of  the  seven  Trumpets,  which  is  squared 
upon  lines  identical  with  those  that  govern  the  development 


Prolegomena  19 

of  the  seals.  At  the  head  of  this  Trumpet  series  there  stands, 
as  master  of  ceremonies,  a  majestic  high-priestly  Angel  who 
performs  a  most  significant  act;  while  at  the  head  of  the  con- 
trastive  section  we  have  the  third  transcendent  epiphany, 
that  of 

3.  The  Pneumatophany. — Trinitarian  truth  here  again 
assumes  spectacular  grandeur  as  it  completes  its  expression 
in  a  symbolized  personification  of  the  person  and  office  of  each 
member  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  With  the  complete  identification 
of  the  significance  of  this  figure  a  brilliant  light  is  thrown 
among  the  shadows  which  at  this  point  becloud  the  symbolism. 

The  divinity  of  this  figure,  together  with  its  distinctive  per- 
sonality and  office,  is  presented  in  whelming  expression.  He  is 
a  Mighty  Angel.  His  face,  shining  like  the  sun  in  the  heavens, 
his  flaming  feet,  planted  upon  both  earth  and  sea,  the  only 
parts  of  his  person  that  are  manifest,  are  those  of  the  Chris- 
tophany.  The  aureole  that  surrounds  his  head  is  the  emerald 
bow  that  hedges  the  thunders  and  lightnings  of  the  awful  throne 
of  the  Theophany,  which,  as  the  echo  of  his  voice,  burst  forth 
in  all  their  sevenfold  sublimity  and  power.  He  also  presents 
his  distinctive  book,  the  third  and  final  one  of  this  introductory 
section  of  the  Apocalypse.  Its  content  will  be  presented  as 
the  sequence  of  the  blast  of  the  seventh  Trumpet.  This  Mighty 
Angel  is  supported  by  Two  Witnesses  who  are  endowed  with 
great  power  but  who  prophesy  in  sackcloth ;  they  are  finally 
slain,  but  rise  from  the  dead  and  ascend  to  heaven,  to  be  en- 
folded in  the  glorious  robings  of  Him  whose  servants  they  are. 
Coincident  with  their  assumption  a  Great  Earthquake  levels 
one  tenth  of  the  city. 

At  this  point  we  may  be  given  to  see  that  the  three  major 
series  of  Epistles,  Seals,  and  Trumpets  are  each  in  a  most  im- 
pressive manner  associated  with  these  three  spectacular  pres- 
entations of  the  distinct  personalities  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and 
thus  from  these  diverse  standpoints  project  their  lines  through- 
out the  same  great  field  of  apocalyptic  characterization.    Here 


20  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

we  may  behold  all  the  divine  forces  deployed  upon  the  field  of 
action.  Over  against  them  in  fearful  array  we  also  are  given 
to  see  the  forces  of  darkness.  The  book  now  to  open  will 
complete  the  introduction  of  the  Great  Seven  of  the  Apocalypse. 

The  Book  of  the  Pneiimatophany. — The  book  of  the  Theoph- 
any,  as  has  already  been  intimated,  is  a  trinitarian  unity.  Its 
three  parts  are  strangely  linked  together  in  the  order  of  an 
involved  expansion  of  content.  The  seventh  Seal  and  Trumpet 
each  give  us  a  new  major  series  and  a  readjustment  of  the 
staging.  Guided  by  the  precedents  already  before  us,  we  must 
recognize  this  final  book  as  comprised  in  the  series  which  devel- 
ops as  the  sequence  of  the  blast  of  the  seventh  Trumpet.  In 
connection  with  the  production  of  these  three  books  we  have 
an  evidence  of  deft  concealment  in  the  formulation  of  the  plan. 
If  they  had  followed  in  a  successional  order  in  the  unfolding 
of  this  involved  and  hyphenated  series,  of  Seals,  seventh  Seal, 
and  seventh  Trumpet,  their  trinitarian  design  would  have  been 
but  thinly  veiled.  Hence  the  complexity  in  the  fact  that  the 
books  are  not  thus  presented,  but  in  connection  with  the  glorious 
epiphany  of  each  divine  personality.  We  shall  find  the  same 
method  employed  with  respect  to  the  emerald  bow  which 
surrounds  the  throne  in  the  Theophany,  as  it  does  the  head  of 
this  figure  of  the  Pneumatophany. 

The  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  as  I  shall  maintain,  though 
the  scholars  will  not  have  it  so,  completes  the  utterance  of  the 
seventh  Trumpet,  giving  us  another  major  and  coordinate 
series,  which  introduces  in  this  same  spectacular  manner  the 
Quadrate  of  the  Great  Seven  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  book 
opens  with  a  characteristic  readjustment  of  the  staging  and  with 
most  impressive  exponential  voicings,  and  then  introduces  as 
its  first  or  leading  figure  a  glorious  being,  for  which  a  name 
must  be  coined  if  we  would  continue  this  epiphanic  nomen- 
clature. 

4.  The  Basilophany;  or.  Mystic  Zion. — This  sublime 
figure,  exalted  to  the  heavens  and  clothed  in  sunlight,  is  simply 


Prolegomena  21 

a  metamorphosis  of  that  which  first  rises  to  view  in  the  Chris- 
tophany  as  the  Golden  Candlesticks,  and  which  in  its  final 
metamorphosis  will  whelm  us  with  its  climacteric  splendor. 
The  Basilophany  divides  into  two  sections,  in  full  harmony 
with  a  clearly  defined  apocalyptic  law,  in  both  of  which,  under 
diverse  circumstances,  it  faces  its  great  antagonist  the  dragon, 
which  in  an  order  of  infernal  epiphany  introduces  the  first 
figure  of  the  antitrinity. 

5.  The  Satanophany. — This  most  horrid  and  most  mon- 
strous figure  is  arrayed  both  against  this  figure  of  the  Basiloph- 
any and  against  God  and  his  throne.  It  is  immutable  through- 
out the  symbolism  save  as  it  reproduces  or  incarnates  itself  in 
a  duality  of  congenial  figures,  who  are  introduced  in  the  same 
spectacular  manner  as  their  animating  principal,  and  through 
whom  he  asserts  his  infernal  power  in  the  earth.  The  first  of 
these  is  a  great  seven-headed,  ten-horned  beast  which  rises 
from  the  sea,  to  which  the  reader  may  be  introduced  as 

6.  The  Theriophany. — The  Greek  name  of  this  monster — 
therion — as  combined  with  phanein,  to  appear,  fomiulates  his 
mystic  name.  It  will  be  noted  that  there  is  a  therionic  factor 
at  the  head  of  each  of  the  preceding  two  Woes,  while  this  mon- 
ster, and  his  adjuvant  to  follow,  will  head  and  dominate  the 
third.  He  appears  in  the  likeness  of  the  dragon,  who  dowers 
him  with  a  throne  and  great  authority.  He  is  therefore  a 
governmental  figure,  and,  as  will  appear,  thralls  the  whole 
earth  with  his  infernal  power.  He  dominates  the  leading  sec- 
tion relative  to  the  third  Woe.  The  final  figure,  next  to  appear, 
will  dominate  the  other. 

7.  The  Pseudo-Prophetophany. — The  second  beast,  and 
final  figure  of  the  infernal  three,  and  of  the  Great  Seven  of  the 
Apocalypse,  rises  from  the  earth ;  conceptually,  from  the  under- 
world. As  distinguished  from  the  great  marine  therion,  he 
is  a  greater  terrene  therion.  He  is  a  manifest  advance  upon  the 
figure  that  precedes  him,  his  distinguishing  role  being  voiced 
in  his  name,  false  prophet.    He  is  not  dowered  by  the  dragon 


22  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

as  was  the  therion  already  in  the  field.  He  does  not  need  to 
be,  as  the  dragon  who  dowers  dwells  within  him,  in  all  the 
fullness  of  his  power.  He  is  thus  enabled  so  to  thrall  the 
great  therion  of  the  sea  as  to  take  and  wield  all  his  authority 
while  he  clearly  eclipses  the  blasphemous  record  he  has  made. 
He  not  only  wields  all  the  powers  of  the  first  beast,  he  also 
possesses  powers  of  his  own  which  amaze  and  startle  the  whole 
earth.  He  is  a  great  miracle-worker  and  sign-monger,  and  thus 
deceives  the  whole  world.  He  clearly  wields  both  political  and 
spiritual  power,  and  forms  one  of  the  trine  coalition  on  the 
field  of  the  great  Armageddon  which  goes  down  before  the 
battle-charge  of  the  white-robed  armies  of  heaven,  who  follow 
the  Lamb. 

While  I  am  not  at  this  stagfe  of  our  study  prepared  to  main- 
tain that  all  these  subsections  are  under  the  law  of  the  septad, 
recognizing  the  fact  that  there  may  be  reasons  for  another 
numeric  arrangement,  yet  the  careful  reader  will  be  impressed 
with  the  fact  that  in  the  main  they  seem  to  show  the  reflex  of 
this  structural  law. 

The  Satanic  Counterfeit  of  the  Trinity 
A  careful  examination  of  the  characteristic  features  pre- 
sented by  this  antitrinity  will  show  a  striking  attempt  at 
parody  of  divine  personality  and  truth.  Christ  is  declared 
to  be  "the  image  of  the  invisible  God"  (Col.  i.  15),  "the  bright- 
ness of  his  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his  person,  uphold- 
ing all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power"  (Heb.  i.  3),  and  "in 
him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily"  (Col. 
2.  9) .  These  scriptures  will  be  sustained  by  the  whole  body 
of  metamorphic  symbol  that  will  deal  with  these  divine  per- 
sonalities. Trinitarian  fullness  crowns  and  animates  the  glori- 
ous figure  of  the  Christophany.  It  is  equally  present  in  the 
figure  of  the  Lamb,  as  he  stands  in  subordinate  position  before 
the  Theophanic  throne.  Again,  in  the  figure  of  the  Pneuma- 
tophany,  we  behold  only  the  face  and  the  feet  of  the  Alpha 


Prolegomena  2^ 

and  Omega,  the  body  of  the  figure  being  concealed  by  its 
vesture  of  clouds,  while  it  is  crowned  by  the  emerald  aureole 
of  the  eternal  throne  and  voiced  by  all  its  seven  thunders  and 
the  lion-roar  of  Jehovah. 

The  Satanic  parody  appears  in  the  fact  that  the  monster  of 
the  sea  is  the  "express  image"  of  the  dragon,  save  that  the 
diadems  he  wears  are  not  upon  his  heads  but  on  his  horns. 
His  is  royal  power;  for  he  rules  all  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world — wears  them  as  the  bristling  equipment  of  his  seven 
heads.  The  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ  is  destined 
to  whelm  all  the  kingdoms  of  this  world ;  this  fact  is  most 
positively  declared  by  the  exponents  that  govern  this  therionic 
section.  Christ  is  the  eternal  King,  but  it  is  the  eternal  Spirit 
who  becomes  the  all-pervading  agency  in  its  conservation  and 
development.  Hence  the  basis  of  the  parody.  In  the  Baby- 
lonian section  of  the  Trilogy,  where  the  false-prophet  sym- 
bolism culminates  in  the  drunken  monster  in  scarlet,  we  simply 
have  the  final  phase  of  this  imperio-spiritual  imagery. 

The  Contrastive  Counterpart 
The  importance  of  this  feature  of  the  structural  plan  can 
hardly  be  overestimated.  It  is  vital  to  a  correct  interpretation 
of  the  great  drama  that  its  significance  be  fully  mastered.  It 
occupies  the  terminal  position  in  the  series  with  which  it  is 
associated,  though  its  regular  introduction  as  following  the 
sixth  member  of  the  seal-trumpet-vial  series  has  led  some  to 
view  it  as  parenthetic.  The  more  important  fact  is  that  of  its 
coordinate  and  contrastive  character.  It  obeys  the  law  of 
duality  introduced  by  the  exponential  voicings.  Under  the 
seals  it  develops  two  sections,  with  a  striking  dominant  fig- 
ure at  the  head  of  each :  ( i )  A  Sunrise  Angel,  at  the  head 
of  the  hosts  of  Israel,  and  (2)  the  Lamb,  surrounded  by  a 
great  white-robed  throng,  triumphant.  LTnder  the  Trumpets 
it  is  introduced  by  the  Pneumatophany.  The  two  phases  of 
characterization  which  follow  relate   (i)   to  the  "Temple  of 


24  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

God"  and  (2)  the  Two  Witnesses.  At  the  close  of  the  book  of 
the  Pneumatophany  there  is  presented  as  its  governing  figures 
a  significant  transposition.  The  Lamb  takes  the  place  of  the 
Sunrise  Angel  as  associate  with  sealed  Israel,  while  the  two 
sections  which  follow  introduce  (i)  three  herald  angels  and 
(2)  three  retributive  angels.  Interposed  between  these  two 
groups  is  a  crowned  Reaper  seated  upon  a  cloud. 

In  the  Retributive  Series  of  the  Vials  there  is  also  another 
transposition.  The  Contrastive  Counterpart  there  deals  with 
the  dark  side  of  the  symbolism  instead  of  the  bright.  As  the 
sublime  climax  of  the  Trilogy  it  returns  to  the  obverse  side  of 
the  drama,  its  leading  figure  now  being  the  Throned  One  and 
its  two  sections  dealing  with  (i)  the  New  Creation  and  (2)  the 
New  Jerusalem,  or  Glory  of  the  Bride.  This  is  followed  by  a 
trinitarian  attestation  of  the  authority  of  the  book. 

Synthetic  Outline. — Synthesis  at  this  point,  while  it  can 
hardly  offer  anything  more  than  a  working  hypothesis,  yet 
may  be  helpful  in  brief  outline.  I  therefore  submit  the  fol- 
lowing synopsis :  ( i )  The  Epistles  or  book  of  the  Christophany 
is  introductory,  but  presents  the  plasm  out  of  which  the  mighty 
concretions  of  the  book  are  built.  (2)  The  book  of  the  Theoph- 
any,  as  a  triunity,  develops  three  coordinate  sections.  The  Seals 
deal  with  ontological  truths,  introducing  the  physical  forces 
of  the  universe,  both  the  seen  and  the  unseen.  The  Trumpets 
deal  with  the  spiritual  forces,  deploying  both  those  of  dark- 
ness and  those  of  light  upon  the  field  of  action.  (3)  The  book 
of  the  Pneumatophany  introduces  royalistic  figures  and  the 
great  struggle  for  the  empire  of  the  world.  (4)  The  Retribu- 
tive series  of  the  Vials  is  squared  upon  the  lines  of  the  Trumpet 
series.  The  Retributive  Trilogy,  which  is  but  the  expansion 
of  the  seventh  Vial,  squares  with  the  issues  of  the  book  of 
the  Pneumatophany,  which  is  an  elaboration  of  the  seventh 
Trumpet,  presenting  metamorphosed  phases  of  figure  and  issue 
there  introduced. 

The  scope  of  the  Epistles  is  in  each  case  coextensive  and 


Prolegomena  25 

coterminous,  reaching  up  to  the  point  of  the  second  coming 
of  Christ.  The  scope  of  the  Seals,  upon  both  sides  of  the  field, 
is  the  same,  and  courses  up  to  the  end  of  the  age.  The  scope 
of  the  Trumpets,  in  a  qualified  sense,  covers  the  same  universal 
plane.  The  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  with  its  dual  sections, 
dragonic,  therionic,  and  contrastive,  carries  its  issues  up  to  the 
same  structural  point.  The  retributive  section  elaborates  the 
details  of  what  is  already  before  us  and  therefore  retraces 
familiar  lines  under  a  maturing  symbolism  which  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  claim  is  capable  of  establishing  the  fact  that  the 
book  has  a  mathematical  as  well  as  a  mystic  symmetry  that 
stamps  it  as  divine. 

The  Concerted  Exponential  Throne  Voicings 
The  importance  of  these  most  terrific  and  most  mysterious 
factors  of  the  symbolism  can  hardly  be  given  too  emphatic  state- 
ment. In  them  are  disclosed  the  great  governing  headlands 
of  the  passing  panorama  of  the  book.  They  serve  to  mark 
the  four  great  divisional  points  that  have  already  been  given 
in  the  outline  above,  (i)  They  are  disclosed  as  emanating 
from  the  throne  of  the  Theophany,  and  are  mystically  declar- 
ative of  the  fact  of  the  presence  of  trinitarian  activities  in- 
volved in  its  manifestation.  They  thus  serve  as  introductory 
to  the  series  of  the  Seals.  (2)  They  burst  forth  again  at  the 
head  of  the  Trumpets,  where  their  utterance  becomes  quad- 
rate by  the  addition  of  the  factor  of  the  great  Earthquake. 

(3)  They  head  the  symbolism  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatoph- 
any, again  being  augmented  by  the  factor  of  the  great  Hail. 

(4)  They  reach  their  most  impressive  and  final  utterance  at  the 
head  of  the  Retributive  Trilogy.  At  this  point  they  rise  to  a 
full  septad,  taking  on  two  additional  factors :  the  Judgment  of 
the  great  city  and  the  Vanishing  of  the  material  realm.  The 
fact  that  these  two  factors  are  not  taken  on  as  additional,  but 
are  an  inclusion  between  the  Earthquake  and  the  Hail,  may  not 
be  appreciated  by  the  reader  at  this  stage  of  our  study,  but 


26  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

later  he  may  be  prepared  to  recognize  in  the  fact  one  of  the 
most  important  refinements  of  the  exponential  symbolism. 
Attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  of  the  transposition  of 
figure  at  different  points  of  the  panorama.  It  is  not  therefore 
surprising  that  we  find  a  like  transposition  with  respect  to  the 
factors  of  these  exponents.  Conceive  of  them  as  symbols  of 
death  and  destruction ;  then  there  is  profound  significance  in 
the  fact  that  in  the  final  scene  they  are  transformed  or  give 
place  to  the  river  of  life,  which  there  issues  from  the  throne. 

The  Apocalyptic  Numbers 
The  discovery  of  the  Rosetta  stone  by  Champollion  solved 
the  mystery  of  the  Egyptian  hieroglyphs,  opening  to  the  world 
a  vast  field  of  research  and  of  historic  knowledge  which  for 
ages  had  been  concealed  behind  these  unyielding  and  meaning- 
less symbols.  The  mastery  of  the  cuneiform  writing,  exhumed 
from  the  mounds  of  ancient  Assyria,  must  be  classed  as  one  of 
the  greatest  achievements  of  the  modern  age.  Its  sober  history 
reads  like  some  wild  romance.  We  read  the  mystery  of  the 
stars,  unbraid  their  strands  of  light,  and  compel  the  distant 
nebulae  to  write  their  secrets  for  us  while  we  wait  in  the 
silence  of  the  midnight.  We  interrogate  and  torture  the  rocks 
until  they  give  up  the  ghost — a  strange  unearthly  flash  of 
mystery  that  threatens  to  whelm  all  our  philosophies.  We  com- 
pel the  lightnings  to  turn  our  midnight  into  noon  and  to  scale 
the  clouds  as  our  postman.  Why  should  we.  be  vanquished 
by  this  book,  written  by  a  fisherman  of  Galilee  ?  That  the  stone 
exists  which  will  finally  solve  this  great  enigma  is  as  cer- 
tain as  that  the  book  has  been  divinely  given,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose stated  in  its  introduction.  Where  may  we  hope  to  find 
it?  Manifestly  not  within  the  walls  or  under  the  debris  of 
paganism.  Every  factor  that  glides  into  the  arena  or  speaks 
its  word  in  passing  bears  the  stamp  of  the  place  where  it  was 
quarried.  It  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  there  is  not  a  figure 
introduced  within  the  entire  scope  of  this  sublime  composition 


Prolegomena  27 

that  does  not  find  its  antecedents  somewhere  within  the  hnes 
of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  and  with  its  significance 
largely  determined  or  suggested  by  its  environment  or  the 
circumstances  which  called  it  forth.  This  fact  calls  for 
a  most  careful  study  of  the  whole  field  of  Old  Testament 
symbolism. 

This  work  the  author  has  attempted  in  a  volume  entitled 
The  Eschatology  of  the  Prophets,  which  he  hopes  to  publish 
in  connection  with  the  present  work,  to  which  it  sustains  a  most 
important  relation.  Attention  will  therefore  be  directed  here, 
primarily,  to  the  significance  of  the  mystic  numbers  that  deter- 
mine the  structure  and  which  so  largely  dominate  the  sym- 
bolism of  the  book.  The  work  done  by  many  in  this  field, 
among  whom  Dr.  Whedon  may  be  mentioned,  is  of  so  excellent 
a  character  that  it  may  be  very  largely  drawn  upon,  though 
necessary  modifications  will  prevent  other  than  this  general 
recognition  of  indebtedness  to  the  scholars  who  have  toiled  in 
this  field,  but  especially  to  Dr.  Whedon  with  respect  to  the 
number  first  discussed. 

The  Mystic  Number  Three. — The  number  three,  as  em- 
ployed in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  is  emphatically  the  divine  number 
as  indicative  of  the  Creator  or  original  Being — God.  The 
divine  substance,  being  pure,  original,  simple,  spiritual  sub- 
stance, is  unit.  This — God  Incommunicable — the  dim  back- 
ground of  Deity — generates  a  revealer,  or  manifested  self, 
and  hence  a  third  all-pervading  effluence.  In  this  and  other 
modes  perhaps  all  the  great  primary  religions  of  the  world, 
from  the  eastern  verge  of  China  to  the  western  shore  of  Ire- 
land, nay,  including  even  the  continent  of  America,  are  more 
or  less  trinltarian.  In  Hindu  theology,  Para-Brahma,  Creator; 
Vishnu,  Preserver ;  and  Shiva,  Destro^^er  and  Renewer.  Among 
the  Buddhists  we  have  the  trine — Buddhas,  Revealer ;  Dharmas, 
the  Revealed ;  and  Saughas,  the  host  who  obeys  revelation. 
Among  the  Chinese  the  name  of  the  Deity  Is  Tao ;  that  Is,  the 
Three-one.  The  celebrated  Tao-Tsu  says  that  Tao  (the  original 


28  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

godhead)  is  by  nature  one,  but  the  first  has  produced  a  second, 
and  the  second  a  third,  and  these  three  have  created  all  things. 

Thus  among  the  Persians,  Egyptians,  and  Romans  equally 
strong  testimonies  are  furnished  with  respect  to  the  divine 
trinity.  Among  the  Hebrews  no  mere  impersonal  God  appears 
nor  abstract  divine  substance.  Nor  does  the  Old  Testament 
distinctly  and  explicitly  reveal  a  trinity  as  such.  Still,  an  occult 
plurality  in  the  godhead  seems  implied  in  various  ways.  This 
fact  meets  us  in  the  very  first  statement  of  the  Bible,  and,  as 
will  be  shown  in  The  Eschatology  of  the  Prophets,  appears 
throughout  the  entire  Bible  under  the  form  of  the  procession 
of  a  divine  angelic  duality.  The  ordinary  term  for  Deity  is 
Elohim,  which  is  a  plural  noun.  This  name  courses  through 
the  first  creational  section  of  Genesis,  while  a  hyphenated  name, 
Jehovah-Elohim,  follows  in  the  second.  Says  Simon  Ben 
Joachi,  an  ancient  rabbi,  as  quoted  by  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  on 
Gen.  I.  I :  "Come  and  see  the  mystery  of  the  word  Elohim. 
There  are  three  degrees,  and  each  degree  by  itself  alone ;  and  yet 
they  are  all  one,  and  joined  together  in  one,  and  not  divided 
from  each  other."  The  divine  utterances  in  Genesis,  "Let 
us  make  man,"  "Let  us  go  down,"  "Become  like  one  of  us," 
are  clearly  suggestive  of  an  occult  plurality  in  the  divine 
nature.  The  trine  benediction  in  Num.  6.  24-26  is  as  occultly 
trinltarian  as  the  New  Testament  benediction  is  manifestly. 
The  trisaglon  of  Isa.  6.  3,  which  is  repeated  with  slight  varia- 
tion in  the  Apocalypse,  unquestionably  refers  to  the  same  great 
fundamental  truth  in  both  cases.  In  the  latter  instance  the 
trine  expression  which  characterizes  the  eternal  existence  of 
the  Divine  Being — "which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  shall 
be" — Is  simply  an  expansion  of  the  name  Jehovah,  which  fact 
again  suggests  a  trinltarian  Involution  In  this  Incommunicable 
name.  How  this  number  projects  the  great  trinltarian  mystery 
into  the  foreground  of  the  Apocalypse  will  develop  as  we 
proceed. 

The  Mystic  One  Third. — This  number,  as  the  reciprocal  of 


Prolegomena  29 

the  trinitarian  coefficient,  must  have  something  analogous  to  it 
in  its  expression.  At  first  glance  it  would  seem  to  relate  to  man 
as  created  in  the  likeness  of  God.  In  the  series  of  the  Seals 
the  third  one  of  the  zoa  has  the  face  of  a  man.  In  the  trumpets 
it  becomes  the  dominant  number,  conditioning  every  utterance 
of  the  series.  At  the  sounding  of  the  third  angel  a  great  Star 
falls  from  heaven  which,  as  will  appear,  squares  with  the  "fall 
of  man."  The  fall  of  this  Star  as  upon  the  third  part  of  the 
rivers  and  fountains  of  waters  also  touches  correlate  sym- 
bolism, but  the  extension  of  this  number  outward  to  earth,  sea, 
and  the  heavens,  its  association,  being  in  every  case  malign, 
rather  suggests  reference  to  the  infernal  antitrinity  than  to 
man.  Upon  this  point  the  reader  will  be  better  able  to  pass 
judgment  later. 

The  Mystic  Number  Four. — The  apocalyptic  quadrate,  as 
a  derivative,  clearly  discloses  its  significance.  Its  formula  is 
3  +  1=4;  which,  as  the  all-inclusive  ontological  number, 
comprises  in  its  essence  both  God  and  the  universe,  or  the 
totality  of  being.  If  the  universe  were  symbolized  by  the  unit 
alone  it  would  hold  the  suggestion  of  independence  of  its 
Creator;  but  the  unit  as  dependent  upon  the  triad  not  only 
expresses  the  fact  of  creation  but  also  the  immanence  of  God 
in  nature.  Four  as  the  starting  point,  with  reference  to  the 
material  world,  seems  from  time  immemorial  to  have  had  wide 
recognition.  The  ancients  divided  all  things  visible  as  under 
four  heads :  earth,  air,  fire,  and  water.  There  are  four  cardinal 
points  whose  lines  intersect  the  globe.  Four  seasons  sweep  over 
its  face.  Four  quarters,  or  points,  are  assigned  to  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  (Ezek.  7.  2;  Zech.  i.  18-21 ;  Rev.  7.  i;  20.  8). 
The  heavens  are  divided  into  four  constellations  (Job  9.  9; 
38.  31).  In  the  vision  of  Ezekiel,  as  in  this  of  John,  there 
appears  the  clearest  reference  to  the  four  of  creation.  As  the 
symbolism  of  this  prophet,  with  its  additions  and  modifications, 
becomes  reanimate  in  the  Apocalypse  we  may  infer  that  its  Old 
Testament  use  had  this  ulterior  design. 


30  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Number  One  Fourth. — This  number  appears  but  once 
in  the  Apocalypse,  and  Hmits  the  power  of  the  destructive 
quadrate  of  the  seals. 

The  Number  Five. — This  number  appears  as  a  partitive 
time  measurement  in  connection  with  the  development  of  the 
first  woe  panorama.  It  marks  the  period  of  torment  of  the 
locust  infernals.  In  the  same  partitive  sense  it  marks  the  fall 
of  the  seven  heads  of  the  marine  therion.  As  employed  in  the 
parable  of  the  ten  virgins  it  divides  the  universal  ten  into  two 
groups — the  saved  and  the  lost. 

The  Number  Six. — This  number  is  employed  but  once  in 
the  course  of  the  book,  though  it  performs  a  most  important 
office  with  respect  to  the  method  of  enunciation  of  the  Seal- 
Trumpet- Vial  series.  Its  significance  is  that  of  incompleteness. 
It  clearly  determines  the  fact  that  the  book  of  the  Theophany 
includes  that  of  the  Pneumatophany,  as  it  does  that  the  Vial 
series  does  the  Retributive  Trilogy.  The  employment  of  this 
numeral  is  more  profuse  in  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel,  where  it 
gives  the  same  suggestion  as  here  with  relation  to  his  mystic 
measurements.  The  number  of  the  terrene  therion,  666,  may 
possibly  fall  to  this  construction,  but  is  rather  to  be  viewed  as 
a  specialty,  standing  by  itself. 

The  Number  Seven. — This  is  the  great  dominant  number 
of  the  Apocalypse.  It  so  ramifies  all  its  divisions  and  sub- 
divisions that  its  detailed  study  simply  becomes  that  of  the 
book  as  a  whole.  That  it  governs  the  structure  of  the  four 
great  series  of  Epistles,  vSeals,  Trumpets,  and  Vials  needs  but 
be  stated.  That  it  is  also  present  in  many  of  the  subdivisions 
and  even  paragraphs  is  also  capable  of  demonstration ;  but  that 
it  also  subdivides  the  subject-matter  of  the  Epistles,  Con- 
trastive  Counterparts,  and  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  as  will 
be  found  in  the  following  pages,  may  be  open  to  criticism.  It 
will  be  assumed  as  a  working  hypothesis,  as  based  in  the  fact 
of  the  coordinate  scope  of  the  antithetic  sides  of  the  panorama. 
This,  however,  may  be  said:  the  structure  of  the  exponential 


Prolegomena  31 

voicings  at  the  beginning  of  the  book  may  be  construed  as 
suggesting  rather  the  triad  than  the  septad  as  the  governing 
number  of  the  obverse  side  of  the  panorama,  though  the  struc- 
tural presence  of  the  quadrate  is  pecuharly  marked — all  phases 
which  will  present  themselves  in  the  progress  of  our  study, 
but  may  not  be  argued  at  length  at  this  point. 

The  mystic  significance  of  this  number  is  derivative  and 
comprehensive.  It  is  composed  of  the  sum  od  the  trine  and 
quadrate  numbers,  which^in  their  largest  sense  comprise  both 
God  and  creation.  It  is  the  great  three  involving  the  great 
four,  and  thus  running  through  the  great  seven.  It  is  to  be 
especially  noted  here,  as  a  fact  which  may  hold  the  complete 
solution  of  the  structural  character  of  both  sides  of  the  pano- 
rama, that  in  all  the  major  series,  and  in  many  instances  in  the 
minor,  the  line  of  cleavage  between  the  quadrate  and  the  triad 
is  clearly  marked,  giving  us  suggestions  of  the  greatest  value 
to  our  study. 

The  ranking  importance  of  this  number  is  certified  in  the 
fact  that  it  meets  us  at  the  threshold  of  the  divine  Book  as 
governing  the  entire  creational  plan.  As  a  striking  coincidence 
with  these  sevens  of  the  Apocalypse  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  creative  work  steadily  progresses  through  six  periods, 
which  are  followed  by  a  break  and  the  introduction  of  a  new 
order  that  retraces  the  lines  previously  established  in  part  in 
an  order  of  expansion.  Again,  coincidence  may  be  discerned 
in  the  fact  that  there  are  three  creative  periods  which  relate 
to  the  earth,  and  then  the  scene  of  activity  reverts  to  the 
heavens,  to  disclose  the  celestial  luminaries.  Passing  back 
again  to  the  mundane  sphere,  in  the  fifth  period  the  sea  brings 
forth  its  monsters,  while  in  the  sixth  the  earth  brings  forth 
its  beasts  and  creeping  things  and,  as  its  culmination,  man  in 
the  likeness  of  God.  In  the  Apocalypse  the  fourth  figure  of 
the  Great  Seven  is  associated  with  the  heavenly  luminaries, 
while  the  sixth  and  seventh  respectively  bring  forth  the  marine 
and  terrene  monsters  of  the  antitrinity.     While  the  interposi- 


^2  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

tion  of  the  fig-ure  of  the  dragon  in  the  fifth  position  breaks  in 
upon  strict  analogy,  yet  there  is  coincidence  sufficiently  clear  to 
warrant  notice  in  passing. 

The  generic  sense  of  this  number  is  clearly  that  of  complete- 
ness. Its  groupings  in  the  fullness  of  their  expression  are 
exhaustive  with  respect  to  the  subject  under  characterization. 
The  book  of  the  Christophany  is  therefore  complete  with 
respect  to  the  phase  of  the  panorama  which  it  presents.  That 
of  the  Theophany  is  an  involved  and  expanding  series  which 
completes  the  utterance  of  its  seventh  Seal  only  at  the  end  of 
the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  and  in  a  certain  sense  only  at 
the  end  of  the  book  as  a  whole,  as  the  Vials  will  be  shown  to  be 
superimposed  upon  the  panorama  of  this  book. 

The  Number  Half-Seven. — This  number  is  thrown  back 
upon  that  of  the  seven  as  its  base.  It  is  vital  to  a  correct  exposi- 
tion of  the  book  that  its  significance  be  grasped,  as  it  is  the 
pivot  upon  which  some  of  the  most  popular  interpretations 
are  made  to  swing.  It  has  been  suggested  that  it  obtains  its 
mystic  value  from  the  history  of  Israel  in  the  time  of  the 
prophet  Elijah.  This  certainly  was  one  of  the  darkest  periods 
in  the  career  of  the  chosen  people.  The  wicked  Ahab  was  on 
the  throne,  while  his  more  wicked  queen,  the  unspeakable  daugh- 
ter of  a  Canaanite  king,  had  almost  extinguished  the  religion  of 
Jehovah,  supplanting  it  by  the  foul  system,  of  Baal.  Elijah 
prays,  and  the  heavens  are  shut  for  three  years  and  a  half, 
during  which  the  awful  condition  of  depression  continues.  This 
adverse  period,  during  which  the  prophets  of  Jehovah  are 
almost  exterminated,  ends  in  the  fall  of  fire  from  heaven  upon 
the  altar  of  Elijah  and  the  destruction  of  the  prophets  of  Baal. 
The  marks  of  coincidence  here  noted  are  indeed  most  striking 
and  should  be  carefully  studied,  though  it  is  not  necessary 
to  give  it  this  reference.  It  is  employed  no  less  than  six  times 
as  a  mystic  time  period — three  times  in  connection  with  the 
Pneumatophany  and  three  times  in  the  bookof  the  Pneumatoph- 
any.   It  first  marks  the  period  of  the  treading  down  of  the  holy 


Prolegomena  33 

city  by  the  Gentiles,  and  then,  as  immediately  following  in  the 
same  connection,  that  of  the  prophesying  of  the  two  witnesses : 
the  first  "forty-two  months,"  the  last  "a.  thousand  two  hundred 
and  sixty  days,"  or  in  each  case  literally  three  years  and  a  half. 
In  connection  with  the  slaughter  of  the  witnesses  we  have 
what  is  clearly  a  mystic  diminutive  of  this  number  in  the 
''three  days  and  a  half"  during  which  the  great  world-quadrate 
refuse  to  allow  their  dead  bodies  to  be  buried,  and  which  ends 
in  their  resurrection  and  ascension. 

The  importance  of  this  number  with  respect  to  the  chron- 
ological adjustment  of  the  entire  body  of  the  symbolism  of 
the  book  is  such  that  it  should  be  studied  with  the  greatest  care, 
or  at  least  until  the  reader  shall  be  able  to  perceive  how  utterly 
the  interpretation  of  the  literalist  with  respect  to  these  num- 
bers breaks  down  in  the  presence  of  the  associate  symbolism. 
One  phase  at  this  point  will  suffice.  The  marine  therion  is 
given  a  period  of  forty-two  months,  or,  as  the  literalist  will 
have  it,  three  years  and  a  half.  But,  as  the  book  itself  inter- 
prets this  figure,  it  is  a  governmental  symbol  relating  to  the 
great  empires  of  the  world,  five  of  which  are  fallen  and  two 
yet  to  come  in  their  relation  to  the  inception  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christ.  In  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  this  monster  is 
disclosed  as  rising  from  the  sea  and  is  dowered  by  the  dragon 
with  universal  supremacy  in  the  earth.  Another  therion  fol- 
lows who  also  becomes  a  universal  power.  To  attempt  to  crowd 
all  the  issues  here  brought  to  view  into  the  short  space  of  three 
and  one  half  literal  years  is  simply  idiocy.  In  the  retributive 
Trilogy,  where  the  same  beast  is  again  disclosed,  the  fact 
of  the  five  fallen  empires  represented  in  the  heads  of  the  beast 
as  well  as  the  two  yet  to  come,  together  with  the  character 
of  the  monster  that  is  revealed  as  seated  in  state  upon  his  back, 
makes  it  simply  a  logical  impossibility  for  the  sane  expositor 
to  entertain  the  thought  of  a  literal  time  period  of  three  years 
and  a  half  into  which  all  these  facts  and  factors  must  be 
crowded.     Again,  the  attempt  to  conceive  of  this  number  as 


34  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

thinly  veiling  just  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  starting  at 
some  point  not  yet  determined  and  ending  at  the  parousia  of 
Christ,  also  meets  with  insuperable  difficulties.  The  problem 
plainly  is  beyond  the  sphere  of  the  primary  class. 

The  Number  Ten. — The  decimal  has  a  wide  range  of  appli- 
cation in  the  Scriptures.  The  scholars  have  noted  the  fol- 
lowing instances  of  its  use:  ten  utterances  of  Elohim  bring 
the  world  to  that  condition  which  fits  it  to  become  the  abode 
of  man;  humanity  from  the  creation  to  the  flood  is  grouped 
into  ten  generations,  and  ten  again  from  the  flood  to  the  time 
of  Abraham;  ten  were  the  plagues  of  Egypt,  in  which  the 
power  of  Jehovah  was  revealed  unto  the  Gentile  world ;  ten 
commandments  were  written  in  the  divine  tables  by  the  finger 
of  Jehovah;  ten  of  the  spies  sent  to  Canaan  brought  back  an 
adverse  report ;  ten  virgins  in  the  parable  characterize  the  pro- 
bationary principle,  as  the  ten  talents  and  ten  pounds  give  a 
visual  exhibit  of  its  results.  It  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the 
Apocalypse,  being  found  very  largely  associated  with  the  ad- 
verse side  of  the  panorama  though  it  appears  upon  both.  Both 
the  figures  of  the  Christophany  and  Pneumatophany  present 
ten  characteristic  features.  On  the  dark  side  of  the  panorama 
it  crowns  the  heads  of  dragon  and  beast  with  their  bristling 
array  of  horns.  As  a  coefficient  it  depends  for  its  mystic  con- 
struction upon  the  factors  which  it  modifies  or  governs.  Its 
antithetic  office  is  clearly  disclosed  in  connection  with  the 
symbol  of  the  horns.  The  mighty  Leader  on  the  divine  side 
of  the  field  is  crowned  with  seven,  the  symbol  of  divine  or 
omnipotent  power.  On  the  infernal  side  the  great  antagonist 
is  shown  with  ten,  as  is  the  therion  whom  he  enthrones  and 
dowers  with  great  authority.  The  difference  that  is  here 
brought  to  view  between  the  divine  power  and  the  world 
power  indicates  the  construction  to  be  put  upon  the  symbol. 
The  reciprocal  of  this  number  occurs  but  once,  relative  to  the 
fall  of  the  great  city.  Its  expansion  will  be  found  associated 
with  some  of  the  most  important  features  of  the  book. 


Prolegomena  35 

The  Number  Twelve. — As  the  sum  of  the  divine  and  crea- 
tional  numbers  gives  us  the  ranking  number  of  the  book,  so 
their  product  gives  us  the  divinely  royahstic  number.  The 
frequency  of  its  use  in  the  Old  Testament  arises  naturally  out 
of  the  tribal  divisions  of  Israel.  In  the  New  Testament  while 
this  phase  continues  it  is  reenforced  in  the  apostolic  headship  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  This  number,  as  doubled  in  the  symbol 
of  the  twenty-four  elders  and  as  expanded  in  that  of  Israel 
and  the  New  Jerusalem,  gives  us  a  study  the  refinements  of 
which  cannot  be  compressed  in  a  brief  synopsis.  It  does  not 
appear  in  the  series  of  the  epistles,  being  first  disclosed  as 
dignified  with  crown  and  throne  in  the  presence  of  the  glori- 
ous figure  of  the  Theophany.  One  of  the  most  important 
phases  of  our  study  will  develop  in  connection  with  the  expan- 
sion and  reduplication  of  this  number.  It  is  therefore  proper 
that  it  be  considered  in  this  connection. 

The  One  Hundred  and  Forty-four  Thousand. — One  of 
the  most  impressive  as  well  as  the  most  instructive  features 
of  the  book  is  presented  in  the  fact  that  this  number  appears 
in  both  the  first  and  third  Contrastive  Counterparts,  but  only 
occultly  in  the  second.  In  the  first  instance  its  identification 
is  complete  as  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  in  even  rank  of  twelve 
thousand  each.  They  are  sealed  in  their  foreheads  by  the 
Angel  of  the  Sunrise.  In  the  second  paragraph  of  the  same 
section  they  again  appear  occultly  in  the  great  white-robed 
throng  which  comes  up  through  the  great  tribulation,  who 
shout  their  victory  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb.  In  the  third 
Counterpart  this  same  host,  identified  by  its  number  and  seal 
but  with  all  tribal  features  lost  sight  of,  is  shown  as  indissolubly 
joined  to  the  Lamb.  The  reflex  of  prophetic  truth  thus  pro- 
jected will  give  us  one  of  the  most  entrancing  conceptions  of 
the  mighty  vision. 

The  Millennial  Number. — In  the  third  and  terminal  sec- 
tion of  the  Trilogy  three  stupendous  conceptions  are  tersely 
thrust  before  us  in  connection  with  a  chronological   symbol 


36  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

which  we  have  not  met  before,  and  which  has  become  the  occa- 
sion of  more  discussion  and  acrid  controversy  than  any  other 
single  factor  of  the  Apocalypse.  With  respect  to  its  meaning 
and  adjustment  Christendom  divides  into  two  camps  whose 
well-known  polemic  signa  are  "pre"  and  ''post."  The  gage  of 
battle  between  these  two  systems  of  interpretation  has  been 
almost  exclusively  with  respect  to  the  time  of  the  promised 
parousia  of  Christ,  while  they  have  been  united  upon  what 
this  study  will  attempt  to  prove  is  a  fundamental  and  fatal 
error  of  construction. 

The  importance  which  these  three  great  disclosures  of  the 
panorama  assume  is  such  that  their  discussion  must  be  deferred 
until  they  may  be  viewed  in  the  focused  light  of  all  the  symbol- 
ism previously  passed  upon  the  mighty  mystic  scroll.  The  follow- 
ing diagram,  however,  may  serve  as  a  prolepsis  of  the  section : 
(i)  The  Binding  of  the  Dragon  for  a  Thousand  Years. 

(2)  The  Souls  of  the  Martyred  Dead  Live  and  Reign  with 

Christ  a  Thousand  Years. 

(3)  The  First  Resurrection,  in  which  the  Priests  of  God  and 

of  Christ  Reign  with  Him  a  Thousand  Years. 

(4)  The  Loosing  and  Overthrow  of  the  Dragon  as  Satan. 

(5)  The    Great    White    Throne    and    Vanishing    Earth    and 

Heavens. 

(6)  The  General  Resurrection  of  the  Dead. 

(7)  The  General  Judgment. 
The  Contrastive  Counterpart: 

(i)   The  New  Creation. 
(2)   The  Glory  of  the  Bride. 

The  Book  of  the  Christophany 

The  Light  at  the  Threshold 

As  we  pass  the  portals  of  this  mystic  temple  it  would  seem 

that  if  its  design  were  really  that  of  a  revelation  of  divine 

truth  instead  of  a  perplexing  enigma  that  would  forever  mock 

the  expositor  a  light,  more  or  less  brilliant,  ought  to  be  placed 


Prolegomena  37 

in  our  hand  at  the  threshold,  with  which  we  might  thread  our 
way  onward  into  its  deeper  mysteries.  That  this  has  been 
done  in  a  truly  characteristic  manner  can  but  profoundly  im- 
press us  when  we  properly  interrogate  what  are  clearly  the 
exponential  headlands  of  the  book. 

First,  we  have  a  short  preface  of  Annunciation,  then  a  more 
extended  paragraph  which  begins  with  a  Benediction,  which  is 
followed  by  the  Christophany,  which  connects  itself  with  the 
mystery  of  its  stars  and  candlesticks,  which  thence  courses 
onward  through  the  seven  epistles.  The  preface  of  a  book, 
which  is  usually  skipped  by  the  average  reader,  sometimes 
contains  statements  that  are  vital  to  a  proper  understanding 
of  the  work.  It  could  hardly  be  otherwise  than  that  this 
should  be  the  case  with  the  Apocalypse.  Examining  this  first 
paragraph,  we  find  that  it  has  a  peculiar  structural  form  which 
will  be  found  to  be  dominant  throughout  all  the  series  and 
sections  of  the  book.  It  is  that  of  the  mystic  seven,  consisting 
of  a  quadrate  and  a  triad  both  containing  most  impressive  invo- 
lutions. It  announces  itself  as  coming  to  us  through  three 
personalities.  One  of  these  is  Jesus  Christ,  whose  name  stands 
first;  another,  the  eternal  God,  thus  identifying  two  of  the 
Persons  of  the  Holy  Trinity;  while  the  third  factor  is  an 
Angel,  who  is  sent  forth  by  Christ,  to  whom  it  is  given  to 
develop  this  Apocalypse  in  the  presence  of  Saint  John,  who 
as  his  amanuensis  completes  what  may  be  called  its  quadrate 
of  origins.  It  is  followed  by  a  triad  which  has  a  peculiar 
double  expression,  as  we  shall  see. 

The  Annunciation — Its  Mystic  Content 
the  quadrate 

( 1 )  The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ, 

(2)  Which  God  gave  unto  him,  to  show  unto  his  servants 

things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass ; 

(3)  And  he  sent  and  signified  it  by  his  Angel 

(4)  Unto  his  servant  John  : 


38  The. Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  triad 

(5)  Who  bare  record  of  the  Word  of  God, 
And  of  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ, 

And  of  ALL  THINGS  THAT  HE  SAW. 

(6)  Blessed  is  he  that  readeth, 

And  they  that  hear  the  words  of  this  prophecy. 

And  KEEP  THOSE  THINGS  THAT  ARE  WRITTEN  THEREIN  : 

(7)  For  THE  TIME  IS  AT  HAND. 

It  will  be  noted  that  we  have  here  what  may  be  designated 
(i)  the  quadrate  of  origin,  which  includes  the  writer.  Fol- 
lowing this  there  is  (2)  a  triad,  which  relates  to  the  subject- 
matter,  the  persons  who  should  receive  it,  and  (3)  a  terminal 
utterance  relating  to  its  chronology.  But  we  have  here  a 
wheel  within  a  wheel.  Two  members  of  this  triad  contain  each 
a  subtriad — a  refinement  which  may  seem  most  occult  and  per- 
plexing to  the  reader,  but  which  upon  more  careful  study  will 
be  found  to  contain  a  perfect  structural  reflex  of  the  apoc- 
alyptic method ;  as  within  the  lines  of  each  triad  of  the  coming 
series  we  will  find  the  double  feature  of  the  Contrastive 
Counterpart. 

While  the  features  of  this  Annunciation  thus  presented  are 
most  important,  the  chief  interest  at  this  stage  of  our  study 
will  perhaps  center  in  the  figure  of  this  Angel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  here  grouped  with  the  two  persons  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  at  the  threshold  of  this  symbolism  to  the  apparent 
exclusion  and  supersession  of  the  person  and  office  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  accredited  inspirer  and  illuminator  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  Scriptures  given  previously  to  this  Apocalypse. 
Strange  indeed  that  a  mere  angel  should  take  such  a  position, 
and  with  such  apparent  sequence.  Again,  having  been  thus 
advised  of  the  coming  of  this  Angel,  we  look  for  him  at  the 
threshold  of  the' panorama,  or  at  least  to  hear  some  word 
from  his  lips  that  will  announce  his  presence ;  but  nowhere 
within  this  introductory  series  do  we  have  the  slightest  intima- 


Prolegomena  39 

tion  of  the  presence  of  such  a  master  of  ceremonies.  Instead 
we  have  the  stibHme  figure  of  the  Christophany,  which  is  a 
glorious  manifestation  of  Christ  himself.  This  is  the  only  figure 
in  the  arena ;  but,  while  this  is  so,  every  utterance  which  comes 
from  the  Christophany  flashes  forth  from  its  lips  from  the 
point  of  a  sharp  two-edged  lingual  sword,  while  the  sevenfold 
repeated  injunction  is  given,  "He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him 
hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches."  This  sword 
is  the  symbol  of  the  Spirit.  Its  presence  here  tells  us  that  the 
third  person  of  the  Godhead  has  not  been  superseded  or  elim- 
inated. The  Angel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  component  part  of  the 
Christophany  here,  as  he  will  be  in  all  the  metamorphic  phases 
that  will  characterize  the  passing  panorama.  This  feature  of 
mystic  combination,  as  thus  thrown  into  the  foreground,  asserts 
a  principle  which  will  be  found  to  dominate  the  entire  book 
with  respect  to  the  disclosure  and  office  of  this  divine  Angel 
of  Jesus  Christ.  The  symbolism  which  will  arise  is  but  the 
mystic  reflex  of  that  inscrutable  relation  which  the  Old  Testa- 
ment discloses  as  existing  between  the  angel  of  Jehovah 
and  the  angel  of  Elohim.  The  former  was  clearly  divine,  but 
mysteriously  associated  with  him  was  another  angel,  compan- 
ion in  procession  from  the  presence  of  Jehovah,  whose  office 
at  times  seems  to  supplement  or  supersede  his.  The  lines  of 
this  great  trinitarian  mystery  should  be  less  occult  here  with 
Calvary  and  Pentecost  in  the  background,  The  Angel  of 
Jesus  Christ  speaks  through  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  this  series 
or  he  does  not  speak  at  all.  This  is  the  first  great  light  that 
is  put  into  our  hands  as  we  cross  the  threshold  of  this  mighty 
book.  The  fact  when  fully  grasped  should  prepare  us  for  the 
glorious  epiphany  of  the  Spirit  himself  in  the  form  of  the 
Angel  of  the  Pneumatophany. 

Following  this  short  annunciation  we  next  have  one  that 
is  more  elaborate,  which  presents  the  trinity  again ;  this  time 
with  amplifications  and  metamorphosed  expression  that  are 
unquestionably  correlate  with  the  symbolism  which  will  develop 


40  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

within  the  hues  of  the  celestial  series ;  which  fact  indicates  the 
office  and  scope  of  these  two  introductory  paragraphic  group- 
ings. It  is  necessary  at  this  point  to  proceed  with  the  greatest 
care.  These  preludes  are  the  great  governing  pillars  of  light 
which  show  the  adjustment  of  the  different  phases  of  the 
symbolism  which  will  develop  as  we  proceed. 

The  Benediction — Its  Incomplete  Triad 
the  quadrate 

( 1 )  John  to  the  seven  churches  which  are  in  Asia : 

(2)  Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace,  from  him  which  is,  and 

WHICH  was,  and  which  IS  TO  COME  ; 

(3)  And  from  the  seven  Spirits  which  are  before  his 

throne  ; 

(4)  And  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  (i)  the  faithful  witness, 

(2)  and  the  first  begotten  of  the  dead,  (3)  and  the 
prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth.  (4)  Unto  him  that 
loved  us,  (5)  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own 
blood,  (6)  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto 
God  and  his  Father;  (7)  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion 
forever  and  ever.    Amen. 

THE  triad 

(5)  (i)  Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds;  and  every  eye  shall 

see  him,  (2)  and  they  also  which  pierced  him:  (3)  and 
all  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  of  him. 
Even  so.  Amen. 

(6)  (i)   I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  beginning  and 

the  ending,   saith  the   Lord    (God,   Revised   Version), 

(2)  which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is  to  come, 

(3)  the  Almighty. 

The  content  of  this  second  and  larger  exponential  section 
very  clearly  suggests  the  extended  scope  of  the  symbolism  which 
it  governs.  It  will  be  shown  to  take  within  its  sweep  the 
full  range  of  the  great  generics  of  the  book.    These  structural 


Prolegomena  41 

features,  which  the  reader  will  hardly  be  able  to  fully  appre- 
ciate until  he  has  mastered  the  intricacies  of  the  symbolism 
which  is  to  follow,  will  be  found  in  a  truly  marvelous  manner 
to  forecast  the  principal  characteristics  of  the  panorama  as 
they  will  develop  upon  the  passing  scroll.  It  will  immediately 
occur  to  the  alert  reader  that  there  has  been  a  departure  from 
the  structural  form  of  the  previous  exponential  seven.  Here 
we  have  but  six  members  of  the  seven.  This  is  a  demonstra- 
tion of  the  structural  principle  involved ;  for  each  of  these 
great  sevens  of  the  celestial  series  will  be  found  to  enunciate 
but  six  of  its  paragraphs  within  the  lines  of  its  series.  It  will 
very  clearly  be  perceived  that  a  full  seven  might  very  easily 
be  constructed  here  by  considering  the  doxology  with  which 
the  quadrate  ends  as  a  paragraph  in  itself.  But,  as  though  to 
prevent  our  making  this  mistake,  these  major  and  minor  divi- 
sions of  the  grouping  are  both  punctuated  by  the  terminal 
Amen.  Again,  instead  of  being  a  defective  seven,  by  the  omis- 
sion of  one  factor  of  the  triad,  we  simply  have  the  same 
structural  reference  to  the  fact  of  this  double  series  within 
the  lines  of  the  triad  to  which  we  are  pointed  in  the  structural 
order  of  the  first  exponential  grouping,  and  referring  to  the 
included  contrastive  section. 

That  it  is  indeed  a  generic,  including  the  first  series  of 
the  epistles — the  book  of  the  Christophany — appears  in  the 
statement  of  its  first  paragraph.  It  begins  with  the  seven 
Churches.  Next  in  order  it  passes  to  the  unnamed  Eter- 
nal of  the  Theophany,  the  Seven  Spirits  before  his  throne, 
and  Jesus  Christ,  touching  the  three  great  factors  of  his 
death,  resurrection,  and  kingship.  Following  this  is  the 
doxology  which  touches  three  points  relative  to  human 
redemption — loved,  washed,  royal  priesthood.  These  factors 
will  be  found  associate  with  the  development  of  the  Theophany 
and  its  amplifications.  The  triad  takes  us,  first,  through  the 
region  of  finalities,  touching  three  points.  The  coming  of 
Christ  will  be  seen  by  every  eye,  and  those  who  pierced  him 


42  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

and  all  kindreds  shall  wail  because  of  him — punctuated  by  the 
Amen.  The  finalities  of  the  counterpart  also  develop  in  a 
corresponding  triad,  which  solves  the  great  trinitarian  mystery 
— all  factors  which  will  be  found  to  govern  the  development 
of  the  symbolism  from  beginning  to  end.  The  fourth  position 
in  the  quadrate  is  occupied  by  Jesus  Christ,  here  fully  identi- 
fied by  name,  and  three  great  factors  which  develop  in  con- 
nection with  his  manifestation — his  atonement,  resurrection, 
and  universal  kingdom. 

The  triad  opens  with  a  doxology  unto  him,  again  expressed 
in  trinitarian  formula.  The  sixth  member  of  the  grouping 
takes  us  forward  to  the  region  of  finalities.  It  will  do  so  in 
each  instance  of  its  appearance  in  all  the  series  in  which  it 
will  find  utterance.  Again  the  trinitarian  formula  is  domi- 
nant: ''Behold,  he  cometh  with  clouds;  and  (i)  every  eye 
shall  see  him,  and  (2)  they  also  which  pierced  him:  and  (3) 
all  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail  because  of  him.  Even  so, 
Amen."  The  refutation  of  the  teachings  of  chiliasm  with 
respect  to  the  manner  of  the  second  coming  of  Christ  could 
hardly  be  more  emphatic  than  is  here  expressed  in  this  expo- 
nential voicing.  When  he  shall  come  again  ''every  eye  shall 
see  him,  and  they  also  which  pierced  him." 

The  final  paragraph  of  this  prelude  relates  to  the  final  Con- 
trastive  Counterpart  of  the  book  in  which  the  mystery  of  God 
is  finished.  In  a  most  impressive  manner  it  shows  all  the 
fullness  of  the  Holy  Trinity  merged  in  the  personality  of  the 
Alpha  and  Omega.  This  fact,  stated  here  in  the  governing- 
exponent,  will  be  amplified  in  a  striking  manner  in  the  final 
section :  "I  am  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  saith  the  Lord ;"  this 
identifies  Christ — "which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is  to 
come ;"  this  statement  as  clearly  identifies  the  Throned  Eter- 
nal ;  and,  lastly,  "the  Almighty."  The  word  in  the  original  is 
Pantokrator,  the  all-powerful  One ;  the  trinitarian  consistencies 
which  are  here  whelmingly  in  evidence  determine  this  to  relate 
to  the  Spirit,  through  whom  Deity  puts  forth  its  power. 


Prolegomena  43 

One  of  the  most  important  of  all  the  logical  as  well  as 
mystic  sequences  which  follow  from  the  voicings  of  these  intro- 
ductory preludes  is  that,  as  equal  recognition  is  accorded  unto 
all  three  persons  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  thus  doubly  introduced, 
so  will  equal  glory  crown  them  in  the  resplendent  epiphanies 
that  will  develop  in  the  characterization  in  an  especial  manner 
of  the  office  of  each  with  respect  to  the  development  of  the 
panorama.  As  we  meet  these  epiphanies  we  find  them  to  be 
in  the  order  of  the  introductory  voicings  of  the  Ann  'ation : 
(i)  Jesus  Christ,  (2)  God,  (3)  an  Angel.  No  more  profound, 
no  more  satisfactory  formulation  of  the  inscrutable  doctrine 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  in  Unity  is  presented  anywhere  in  the 
course  of  divine  revelation  than  is  here  visualized  in  these 
whelming  portraitures  of  the  Apocalypse.  There  is  an  infini- 
tude about  the  Christophany  that  proclaims  its  divinity.  No 
more  impressive  characterization  of  throned  omnipotence  has 
ever  been  conceived  by  the  mind  of  man  than  that  which  flames 
before  us  in  the  Theophany,  while,  with  a  grandeur  that  fully 
sustains  the  dignity  of  the  Godhead,  the  sublime  figure  of  the 
Pneumatophany,  with  the  face  and  feet  of  the  Alpha  and 
Omega  and  with  the  Aureole  of  the  eternal  throne  circling  its 
head  and  as  voiced  by  its  seven  thunders,  treads  in  majesty 
upon  earth  and  sea  and  punctuates  the  course  of  time. 

The  kingdom  of  God  in  the  earth  develops  through  the  suc- 
cession of  three  great  dispensations.  Each  of  these,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  evolution  of  a  divine  plan,  is  associated  with  a 
distinct  personality  of  the  Godhead.  The  manner  in  which 
these  diverse  dispensations  are  correlated  and  interrelated 
presents  a  scriptural  deep  as  profound  as  that  of  this  mysti- 
cism. The  dispensation  of  the  Father,  while  illuminating  the 
great  headlands  of  divine  revelation,  yet  is  dark  and  meaning- 
less until  supplemented  by  that  of  the  Son  as  disclosed  in  the 
gospels.  In  like  manner  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  crowns 
and  completes  that  of  the  Son.  With  these  established  facts 
before  us  we  should  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  the  Apoc- 


44  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

alypse,  as  the  great  valedictory  of  the  divine  Book,  in  a  mystic 
manner  retraces  these  Hnes,  completing  their  expression  within 
the  plan  and  substance  of  its  symbolism.  To  discover  that  it 
has  done  so,  and  that  this  final  book  is  a  mystic  reflex  of 
divine  revelation  as  a  whole,  were  nothing  more  accomplished, 
is  to  make  a  positive  advance  in  our  knowledge  of  scriptural 
truth.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  each  of  the  books  presented 
in  these  epiphanies  contains  a  special  statement  relative  to  the 
character  and  office  of  the  divine  personality  presenting  it  this 
fact  will  add  a  most  important  contribution  to  our  study. 
Trinitarian  symbol  here  becomes  far  more  impressive  than 
words.  The  Christophany  presents  the  figure  of  the  glorified 
Christ,  and  yet  associate  symbol  shows  that  *'in  him  dwelleth 
all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily."  He  assures  the  per- 
plexed disciples  that  the  place  that  would  be  apparently  vacated 
by  his  departure  would  be  filled  by  another  Paraclete,  whom 
he  says  "the  Father  will  send  in  my  name;  he  shall  teach 
you  all  things."  He  continues:  *Tt  is  expedient  for  you  that 
I  go  away :  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come 
unto  you;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you.  .  .  .  He 
shall  not  speak  of  himself ;  but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that 
shall  he  speak:  and  he  will  show  you  things  to  come."  *'He 
shall  glorify  me :  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show 
it  unto  you.  All  things  that  the  Father  hath  are  mine ;  there- 
fore said  I  that  he  shall  take  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto 
you."  In  view  of  a  multitude  of  statements  made  by  Christ 
in  this  strain  it  becomes  a  crowning  attestation  of  their  import 
to  find  this  mysterious  Angel  of  Jesus  Christ  both  speaking 
through  his  lips  and  reflecting  the  lineaments  of  his  face.  The 
last  words  of  Olivet  emphasize  the  promise  of  his  coming, 
and  voice  this  principle  of  indwelling:  "Ye  shall  receive  power 
after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be 
witnesses  unto  me."  That  gale  of  life  that  swept  down  upon 
the  infant  church  on  that  glorious  pentecostal  morning  Is  the 
only  explanation  of  the  sudden  and  remarkable  transition  of 


Prolegomena  45 

Christianity  from  cowering  in  the  shadow  of  the  cross  to  that 
courageous  aggressiveness  that  faced  the  whole  world  and 
boldly  claimed  it  as  the  heritage  of  their  crucified  Lord.  At 
this  point  He  who  brooded  over  the  primeval  waters  moves 
upon  the  great  deep  of  the  creation  in  Christ  Jesus  to  again 
vanquish  chaos  and  give  back  to  man  the  lost  likeness  of  God. 
Had  he  not  come  chaos  would  have  continued,  and  the  Christ 
of  the  gospels  would  have  become  only  a  memory,  an  historical 
incident,  an  inexplicable  mystery.  As  the  God-man  he  has 
vanished  from  earth,  and  from  mortal  vision.  The  heavens  have 
received  him  until  the  times  of  the  restitution  of  all  things; 
then  he  will  come  again,  according  to  his  promise  (Acts  3.  21)  ; 
and  as  we  are  here  assured,  "Every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they 
also  which  pierced  him ;  and  all  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  wail 
because  of  him.  Even  so.  Amen."  This  Angel  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  thus  mysteriously  identified  with  Christ  himself,  in  the  same 
manner  as  he  is  given  to  dwell  in  the  hearts  of  believers. 

It  is  profoundly  significant  that  in  no  one  of  the  series  of 
the  Apocalypse  do  we  meet  with  the  varied  figure  of  Christ 
that  we  do  not  find  associated  with  it  an  agency  which  as 
integral  articulates  his  words  and  reflects  his  likeness,  and  as 
distributive  combines  in  his  activities  or  waits  upon  his  action, 
as  the  Seven  do  in  the  presence  of  the  Eternal  Throne.  It  is 
thus  that  this  sublime  figure  of  the  Christophany  walks  in 
the  midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks  with  all  power  in  heaven 
and  earth  in  his  hands  and  the  keys  of  Hades  and  death  at  his 
girdle.  The  voice  with  which  he  speaks  is  the  sharp  sword- 
thrust  of  the  Spirit,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  of  soul  and 
spirit,  reverberating  in  tones  of  thunder  or  in  whisper  as  soft 
as  a  zephyr,  "I  have  somewhat  against  thee." 

The  mystery  of  this  divine  procession  from  the  unfathom- 
able depths  of  Deity  I  make  no  claim  to  have  solved.  To  resolve 
these  mystic  symbols  is  but  to  outline  the  foothills,  while  the 
Alpine  summits  that  rise  beyond  them  are  lost  in  the  glories 
of  the  heavens. 


46  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Christophany 

We  come  now  to  the  third  section  of  this  introductory  expo- 
nential grouping,  the  Christophany.  In  the  fact  that  it  pre- 
sents a  third  grouping  of  sevens,  with  still  more  complex 
amplifications,  we  have  an  exponential  brief  of  the  structural 
plan  of  the  Apocalypse.  It  is  vital  to  our  study  that  the  lines 
here  be  made  to  stand  out  in  the  clear.  The  reader,  therefore, 
will  kindly  bear  with  what  may  seem  to  him  to  savor  somewhat 
of  verbose  repetition.  It  is  highly  important,  as  this  first  glori- 
ous display  of  the  apocalyptic  paraphernalia  bursts  upon  us, 
that  we  overlook  nothing  that  may  have  exponential  value  with 
respect  to  the  series  that  will  follow.  We  may  at  least  deter- 
mine the  exponential  lines,  if  we  may  not  at  this  stage  of  our 
study  fully  grasp  their  significance. 

There  is,  first,  an  introductory  sub-seven  in  which  the  writer 
introduces  himself  and  with  an  easy  grace  tells  who  he  is, 
where  he  was,  and  why  he  was  there,  and  then  we  have — 

(i)  The  great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet,  which  commands 
the  writing  of  the  book  of  the  Christophany: 

'T  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  I  heard  behind 
me  a  great  voice,  as  of  a  trumpet,  saying,  I  am  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  first  and  the  last:  and,  What  thou  seest,  write  in 
a  book,  and  send  it  unto  the  seven  churches  which  are  in  Asia ; 
unto  Ephesus,  and  unto  Smyrna,  and  unto  Pergamos,  and  unto 
Thyatira,  and  unto  Sardis,  and  unto  Philadelphia,  and  unto 
Laodicea." 

(2)  The  vision  of  the  Christophany  itself,  which  amplifies  in 
ten  phases : 

"And  I  turned  to  see  the  voice  that  spake  with  me.  And 
being  turned,  I  saw  seven  golden  candlesticks ;  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  seven  candlesticks  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  clothed 
with  a  garment  down  to  the  foot,  and  girt  about  the  paps 
with  a  golden  girdle.  His  head  and  his  hairs  were  white  like 
wool,  as  white  as  snow;  and  his  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire; 


Prolegomena  47 

and  his  feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  as  if  they  burned  in  a  furnace ; 
and  his  voice  as  the  sound  of  many  waters.  And  he  had  in  his 
right  hand  seven  stars:  and  out  of  his  mouth  went  a  sharp 
two-edged  sword :  and  his  countenance  was  as  the  sun  shineth 
in  his  strength." 

(3)  The  seer  is  whelmed  by  the  transcendent  aspects  of  the 
vision : 

"And  when  I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead." 

(4)  Annunciation  by  the  Christophanic  figure : 

*'And  he  laid  his  right  hand  upon  me,  saying  unto  me,  Fear 
not;  I  am  the  first  and  the  last:  I  am  he  that  liveth,  and  was 
dead ;  and,  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore,  Amen ; 

(5)  "And  have  the  keys  of  Hades  and  of  death." 

The  Amen  that  precedes  this  utterance  is  a  punctuation 
point.  It  here  marks  the  dividing  line  between  the  quadrate 
and  the  triad,  and  in  the  introduction  of  these  figures  of  Hades 
and  death  marks  the  boundary  that  we  will  later  find  established 
between  the  natural  and  the  spiritual  in  these  groupings  of 
sevens : 

(6)  "Write  the  things  which  thou  hast  seen,  and  the  things 
which  are,  and  the  things  which  shall  be  hereafter." 

This  command  is  not  to  be  understood  as  a  repetition  of  the 
previous  command  to  write,  but  relates  to  the  production  of  the 
celestial  series  which  will  follow  this  of  the  Christophany. 
The  reader  will  not  fail  to  note  its  trine  division. 

(7)  Brings  us  to  the  solution  of  the  great  mystery  involved 
within  the  book: 

"The  mystery  of  the  seven  stars  which  thou  sawest  in  my 
right  hand,  and  the  seven  golden  candlesticks.  The  seven 
stars  are  the  angels  of  the  seven  churches:  and  the  seven 
candlesticks  which  thou  sawest  are  the  seven  churches." 

We  have  now  this  dual  grouping  of  exponents  and  that  of 
the  Christophany  each  in  an  expanding  order  of  expression. 
The  second — as  has  been  shown — lacks  the  final  member  of 
tjhe  triad ;  this  now  before  us  completes  the  full  utterance  of 


48  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

its  seven.  The  fact  will  be  found  to  square  with  the  features 
of  the  book  of  the  Christophany  as  it  will  also  with  the  finalities 
of  the  Apocalypse. 

In  our  study  of  this  sublime  figure  of  the  Christophany,  as, 
in  fact,  of  all  others  that  will  follow  upon  the  passing  screen, 
we  must  be  alert;  even  the  minutest  details  should  be  care- 
fully scrutinized,  as  they  sometimes  may  contain  factors  that 
are  vital  to  our  interpretation.  The  day  of  this  sublime  vision 
was  the  Lord's  day — the  day  of  the  resurrection,  the  day  of  the 
Pentecostal  outpouring  of  the  Spirit;  a  fact  which  sets  the 
divine  seal  upon  this  sacred  day  of  the  new  dispensation.  He 
tells  us  that  he  was  in  the  Spirit.  This  fact  certifies  the  in- 
spiration of  the  writing.  The  method  of  inspiration  may  also 
be  suggested  in  the  fact  of  the  command  upon  him  to  use  his 
own  faculties  in  the  production  of  what  was  thus  exhibited 
before  his  eyes  in  pictographic  form.  The  voice  is  first  heard, 
before  the  Christophany  itself  appears.  This  is  behind  him; 
perhaps  to  characterize  the  attitude  of  the  church  as  looking 
away  from  Christ,  who  challenges  it  to  turn  again  unto  him. 
Being  turned,  he  saw,  first,  seven  golden  candlesticks.  Not,  per- 
haps, seven  branches  from  one  central  stock,  but  seven  indi- 
vidual stands,  the  number  denoting  the  fact  that  the  figure 
takes  the  full  range  of  its  subject.  This  feature  of  the  vision 
throws  the  dignity  and  glory  as  well  as  the  sacred  office  of  the 
church  into  the  foreground.  Christ  is  to  be  manifested  to  the 
world  through  his  church.  It  has  been  noted  that  the  Christoph- 
any presents  ten  distinct  symbolic  points  of  characterization, 
and  that  the  Pneumatophany  will  also  present  a  like  number. 
These  are  (i)  one  like  unto  the  Son  of  man;  (2)  garment; 
(3)  girdle;  (4)  hair;  (5)  eyes;  (6)  feet;  (7)  voice;  (8)  stars; 
(9)  sword;  (10)  sunlike  face. 

This  Apocalypse  was  given  to  Christ  by  the  Father.  He 
therefore  becomes  the  proper  personality  to  stand  in  the  fore- 
ground of  its  enunciation.  It  is  most  fitting  that  the  world 
that  had   witnessed   his   humiliation   should   also  behold   this 


Prolegomena  49 

sublime  picture  of  his  exaltation  as  its  glorified  Redeemer. 
Once  more  the  Christ  he  loves  stands  revealed  before  ''his 
servant  John,"  but  in  what  changed  expression!  Those  feet, 
glowing  like  the  fierce  light  of  the  molten  brass,  which  now 
tread  with  such  stately  majesty  the  opening  avenues  of  these 
divine  mysteries,  he  had  seen  covered  w^th  the  dust  of  the 
highways  of  Judea  and  Galilee  and  washed  by  the  tears  of  the 
penitent  sinner.  Those  eyes,  which  now  flame  in  their  brilliance 
like  the  lightnings,  he  had  seen  beam  with  compassion  upon 
harlots  and  lepers  as  they  cried  unto  him  for  help,  and,  again, 
gazing  with  ineffable  love  into  the  upturned  face  of  innocent 
childhood.  That  face,  now  dazzling  as  the  sun  in  his  noonday 
splendor,  he  had  seen  wet  with  sympathetic  tears  in  the  pres- 
ence of  human  sorrow  and  suffused  with  blood  under  the 
exigencies  of  that  awful  hour  when  the  bitter  cup  of  a  world's 
woe  was  pressed  to  his  lips  in  Gethsemane.  He  had  seen  it 
in  the  pallor  of  death,  when  the  heavens  were  dark  and  the 
earth  was  quaking  under  the  terrible  scene  of  the  cross,  in 
which  a  lost  world  in  the  wild  delirium  of  sin  repudiated  its 
Redeemer.  More  than  half  a  century  had  passed  since  that 
never-to-be-forgotten  day  when  he  with  the  ten,  emerging 
from  the  gloom  of  that  fearful  midnight  hour,  had  stood  in 
the  morning  light  upon  Olivet  and  listened  to  his  parting 
counsels,  and  from  those  pierced  hands  received  his  final  bless- 
ing, and  seen  him  rise  from  the  earth  and  disappear  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven.  Once  more  he  stands  before  him.  He  is 
the  same  Christ  upon  whose  breast  he  pillowed  his  head  when 
he  said,  "Little  children,  love  one  another."  He  is  the  same 
Christ  who  trod  the  waves  of  Galilee,  and  hushed  the  light- 
nings and  thunders  above  their  storm-lashed  bosom.  He  comes 
now  to  tread  a  sea  whose  mystic  bloody  billows  moan  on  the 
strand  of  eternity,  and  to  hush  the  thunders  and  lightnings 
that  are  flaming  in  the  heavens  from  the  awful  throne  of  the 
Eternal.  The  rush  of  memories  which  surged  in  upon  John 
at  such  a  meeting,  exclusive  of  the  splendor  that  robed  the 


50  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

divine  visitant,  were  enough  to  whelm  the  stoutest  heart.  It 
is  not,  therefore,  surprising  that  the  aged  apostle  of  Christ 
should  fall  at  his  feet  as  dead.  But  he  is  still  the  same  com- 
passionate Jesus.  He  laid  his  right  hand,  that  hand  that  holds 
the  stars,  upon  the  prostrate  disciple  that  he  loved,  saying, 
"Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and  the  last :  I  am  he  that  liveth,  and 
was  dead ;  and,  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore.  Amen ;  and 
have  the  keys  of  Hades  and  of  death."  The  identification  of 
this  glorious  personality  is  complete.  No  lingering  doubt  exists 
in  the  mind  of  John ;  he  can  have  none  in  the  presence  of  this 
whelming  figure  of  the  Christophany. 

John  was  not  the  first  to  behold  this  resplendent  personality. 
It  was  this  hand  that  now  is  laid  in  compassion  upon  him 
that  covered  Moses  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock  as  this  same  figure 
in  its  awful  splendor  swept  by  him.  Daniel  saw  it  upon  the 
banks  of  the  Ulai;  and  it  whelmed  him  as  it  does  John.  It 
was  the  same  white  light  of  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  and 
of  the  Damascus  road,  overwhelming  with  its  unearthly  splen- 
dor wherever  it  breaks  through  the  veil  upon  the  vision  of 
mortal  man.  Dull  the  eye  that  can  look  upon  this  transcendent 
figure  and  not  see  in  it  the  flamings  of  Deity.  That  snowy 
crown  Daniel  saw  upon  the  head  of  the  Eternal.  Those  eyes 
flaming  with  fire  more  intense  than  that  which  glows  in  the 
sunlike  face  are  those  of  the  Omniscient.  That  hand  that 
holds  the  stars  flung  all  the  stars  into  the  depths  of  space  on 
creation's  morning.  It  could  handle  the  thunders  and  light- 
nings, beat  back  the  surges  of  this  bloody  mystic  sea,  and  chain 
even  Satan  himself  in  the  bottomless  depths  of  perdition.  It 
had  led  Abraham  into  view  of  a  city  whose  builder  and 
maker  is  God.  It  will  lead  the  redeemed  to  living  fountains 
of  water  and  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  forever. 
That  hand,  with  the  nail-print  in  it,  lifts  the  prostrate  apostle 
to  his  feet  to  receive  and  transmit  his  final  and  most  impressive 
message  relative  to  the  coming  of  his  glorious  kingdom. 

Thus  unfolds  the  scroll  of  the  book  of  the  Christophany, 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  CHRISTOPHANY 

"What  thou  seest,  write  in  a  book,  and  send  it  unto  the  seven 
churches  which  are  in  Asia." — Rev.  i.  ii. 

Adjustment  of  Its  Symbolism 
This  book  of  the  Christophany  is  one  of  three  great  deliver- 
ances of  the  Apocalypse,  one  of  which  follows  in  connection 
with  each  of  the  three  divine  epiphanies.  The  mystic  method 
of  each  is  peculiar.  The  first  is  to  be  written  by  the  pen  of  the 
inspired  amanuensis ;  the  second,  as  lying  upon  the  hand  of  the 
Eternal,  was  to  be  unsealed ;  the  third,  held  open  in  the  hand  of 
the  Angel  of  the  Pneumatophany,  was  to  be  eaten,  and  assimi- 
lated, as  the  mystic  preparation  for  the  enunciation  of  its  con- 
tent. It  will  be  noted  with  respect  to  the  command  for  the 
production  of  this  book,  which  relates  to  the  seven  churches, 
that  it  has  but  one  phase  and  that  it  is  put  in  the  present  tense : 
"What  thou  seest,  write."  The  next  command  to  write,  which 
is  here  interpreted  as  relating  to  the  production  of  the  fol- 
lowing celestial  series,  takes  on  three  phases,  which  in  mystic 
chronological  expression  takes  the  range  of  the  past,  the  pres- 
ent, and  the  future.  Twelve  times  durino-  the  unfoldine:  of  this 
panorama  John  is  commanded  to  "write,"  and  once  to  "write 
not."  If  the  reader  has  grasped  the  significance  of  the  char- 
acter and  office  of  these  exponential  paragraphs  he  will  see 
that  this  second  command  to  write  is  not  a  redundancy,  but 
one  of  the  governing  factors  which  determine  the  structural 
order  of  the  development  of  the  symbolism  of  the  book.  The 
command  must  be  understood  as  relating  to  the  development 
of  that  which  is  sequent  to  this  book  of  the  Christophany,  and 
yet  it  holds  the  suggestion  of  its  inclusion  in  the  larger  scope 
of  the  book  of  the  Theophany:  "Write  the  things  that  thou 
sawest,"  etc.  (Revised  Version). 


52  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  fact  that  this  statement  with  respect  to  the  unfolding 
of  the  mystery  relative  to  the  stars  and  candlesticks  here  fol- 
lows this  command  which  refers  to  the  production  of  the  larger 
series,  and  that  it  is  in  itself  the  completion  of  the  utterance 
of  the  Christophanic  seven,  tells  us  structurally  that  this  mys- 
tery is  not  to  be  disclosed  until,  in  the  full  development  of  the 
plan  of  the  Apocalypse,  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished. 
It  is  difficult  to  conceive  what  mystery  can  remain  if  these 
candlesticks  are  simply  representative  of  seven  Asiatic  churches 
and  the  stars  of  their  ecclesiastical  heads.  And  it  is  equally 
difficult  to  discover  any  great  "mystery"  in  the  mere  hortatory 
admonitions  that  are  meted  out  to  the  seven.  The  problem  is 
deeper  than  this.  There  is  here  something  more  profound  than 
appears  upon  the  surface.  There  is  something  so  softly  whis- 
pered as  to  be  caught  only  by  the  divinely  sensitized  ear,  and 
yet  so  important  that  it  receives  an  underscoring  of  emphasis 
hardly  to  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  whole  body  of  Holy  Writ. 
At  every  point  of  transition  we  are  admonished  in  the  words, 
'*He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto 
the  churches."  If  the  design  were  only  to  give  needed  admoni- 
tion to  these  different  ecclesiastical  bodies  why  select  only 
seven — leaving  out  of  the  reckoning  such  important  centers 
of  Christianity  as  Rome,  Corinth,  Alexandria,  Antioch,  Tralles, 
and  others  whose  spiritual  needs  were  certainly  not  less  impera- 
tive than  these  selected  for  admonition?  Plainly  because  of 
some  feature  recognized  as  either  pertaining  to  character  or 
environment,  with  respect  to  these  seven,  that  was  capable  of 
being  elevated  by  this  method  of  mystic  characterization  into 
a  great  generic  of  the  symbolism  that  would  be  inclusive  of  all. 

The  more  closely  we  study  the  character,  form,  and  expres- 
sion of  each  individual  epistle,  and  that  progressive  movement 
that  courses  through  them  as  a  whole,  the  more  we  will  be 
impressed  with  the  occult  nature  of  their  content.  In  their 
structure,  which  in  each  case  presents  an  apocalyptic  seven, 
their  paraphernalia,  correlations,  down  to  the  minutest  detail 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  53 

that  finds  place  in  their  terse  paragraphic  utterance,  we  find 
the  same  pecuHar  mysticism  that  dominates  the  entire  book. 
In  fact,  we  may  find  striking  suggestions  of  parallel  between 
these  minor  sevens  and  the  leading  features  of  the  great  sevens. 
Germinal  here  are  the  figures  of  the  Dragon,  Beast,  False 
Prophet,  the  Great  Harlot,  and  others  equally  striking,  each 
susceptible  of  a  structural  adjustment  with  the  amplifications 
of  the  larger  series  that  will  suggest  the  correct  interpreta- 
tion of  the  symbol.  A  case  in  point  is  that  the  promised 
reward  in  each  epistle  takes  the  whole  range  of  biblical  truth 
from  the  garden  of  Eden  to  the  end  of  the  world ;  from  eating 
of  the  tree  of  life,  lost  in  the  first  transgression,  to  sitting 
down  in  that  throne  of  glory  that  is  won  in  the  triumph  of 
the  redemption  of  Christ.  The  phase  of  retribution,  in  like 
manner,  grows  from  the  gentle  chiding  of  an  angel  fallen 
from  his  first  estate  to  one  around  whose  head  we  can  almost 
see  the  lightnings  of  divine  retribution  begin  to  play,  as  coupled 
with  the  expression  of  the  divine  disgust  in  the  statement, 
"I  will  spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth."  The  scope  of  this  terres- 
trial series  and  the  relation  that  it  sustains  to  the  celestial  are 
thus  measurably  determined.  More  than  this,  perhaps,  should 
not  be  attempted  until  we  have  obtained  a  wider  outlook  and 
a  better  acquaintance  with  the  utterance  of  the  profounder 
portions  of  the  book. 

Many  and  varied  have  been  the  attempts  at  apocalyptic  expo- 
sition, and  with  results  thus  far  that  should  warn  us  to  beware 
of  overconfidence.  With  respect  to  these  divergent  systems 
the  following  may  be  noted  in  brief:  The  preterist,  ignor- 
ing this  element  of  mystery  which  Christ  himself  associates 
with  these  stars  and  candlesticks,  professes  to  see  nothing  in 
them  more  than  a  series  of  admonition  and  rebuke  addressed 
to  these  literal  Asiatic  churches;  the  historicist  goes  to  the 
other  extreme,  and  claims  that  under  the  veil  of  this  mystic 
address  we  have  in  outline  the  consecutive  history  of  the  entire 
Christian  age  ;  the  futurist,  impressed  with  the  signal  failure  of 


54  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  historicist,  even  by  means  of  the  most  arbitrary  methods 
of  interpretation,  either  to  evolve  past  history  or  to  compel 
these  symbols  to  disclose  events  about  to  happen,  conceives  that 
this  entire  introductory  section,  as  well  as  a  very  large  portion 
of  the  series  to  follow,  relate  to  events  that  are  still  in  the 
future — thus  admitting  a  prophetic  hiatus  of  nearly  two  thou- 
sand years  within  the  scope  of  the  book.  If  the  conception 
of  the  historicist  be  true  it  would  seem  that  he  should  be  able 
to  present  something  more  coherent  than  the  conflicting  mass 
of  crudity  and  sometimes  inanity,  not  to  say  insanity,  which  he 
has  put  forth  in  the  name  of  exposition.  If  the  contention 
of  the  historicist  be  grounded  in  fact  surely  eighteen  hundred 
years  ought  to  be  long  enough  to  test  the  apocalyptic  transcript 
of  the  course  of  time.  Confessedly  this  he  has  not  succeeded 
in  doing.  The  more  'light"  that  his  methods  throw  upon  the 
great  theme  the  deeper  the  mystery  seems  to  have  become  and 
the  more  remote  the  prospect  of  an  interpretation  that  would 
commend  itself  to  the  intelligent  biblical  student. 

While  the  author  of  this  work  is  compelled  by  the  discov- 
eries which  he  conceives  himself  to  have  made  with  respect 
to  the  character  of  the  book  to  largely  reject  all  these  systems 
of  interpretation,  as  having  utterly  failed  to  make  their  results 
square  with  any  intelligible  order  of  either  principle  or  se- 
quence, yet  he  would  not  be  understood  as  declaring  unquali- 
fiedly against  the  historic  concept  involved ;  for  history,  in  its 
proper  sense,  must  be  conceived  as  developing  in  the  sequences 
of  the  passing  of  the  panorama,  if,  as  the  book  itself  plainly 
declares,  the  great  drama  has  a  progressive  movement  from 
initials  to  finalities.  With  respect  to  the  preterist  conception 
of  literalistlc  construction  of  these  epistles,  he  thinks  that  suffi- 
cient has  already  been  advanced  to  show  that  such  a  conception 
is  utterly  irrelevant  to  the  situation.  The  dominance  of  the 
ranking  apocalyptic  number  in  the  Preludes  and  Epistles,  the 
evident  mobility  of  these  Stars  and  Candlesticks,  the  mysterious 
blending  of  trinitarian  personality  in  the  Christophany,  and  the 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  55 

great  mystery  that  looms  so  large  at  the  threshold,  all  unite 
to  lift  this  initial  Series  beyond  the  plane  of  mere  literalism 
and  to  stamp  it  with  the  same  transcendent  markings  as  we 
shall  find  dominant  in  the  celestial  Series.  The  mystery  begins 
with  a  fallen  star,  or  angel,  whose  Candlestick  is  removed  out 
of  its  place.  It  ends  with  one  that  is  rejected,  and  spewed 
out;  and  yet  neither  condition  is  wholly  apostate;  for  out  of 
the  one  there  arises  the  overcomer,  who  eats  of  the  tree  of 
life,  and  out  of  the  other,  even  nauseous  Laodicea,  victors  who 
are  esteemed  by  Christ  to  be  worthy  of  sitting  down  with  him 
in  his  eternal  throne. 

An  important  point  that  should  be  kept  steadily  in  mind 
is  that  this  mystic  method  transcends  that  of  ordinary  thought 
expression  in  prose.  The  mere  placing  of  a  factor  or  figure 
in  position  must  be  understood  as  carrying  with  it  the  whole 
perspective  of  its  correlate  associations.  For  instance,  the  Jews 
are  tersely  introduced  in  the  martyr  epistle  of  the  myrrh. 
The  fact  of  their  prophetic  rejection  is  thus  brought  to  view 
in  connection.  The  "synagogue  of  Satan,"  also  associate,  must 
not  be  dismissed  as  a  mere  epithet.  It  characterizes  the  pres- 
ence of  an  infernal  spiritual  power.  Here  the  Jews  drop  out 
of  sight  as  a  factor  of  the  symbolism  until  near  its  close,  in 
the  epistle  of  Brotherly  Love,  where  they  reappear  as  in  fulfill- 
ment of  the  prophetic  promises  made  to  them,  and  are  shown 
as  devout  worshipers  of  the  Christ  whom  once  they  crucified. 
In  the  third  epistle  the  synagogue  of  Satan  is  reenforced  by 
the  Satanic  throne,  and  the  coming  shadows  of  the  two  figures 
to  whom  it  will  be  given  are  projected  upon  the  screen — Balak 
and  Balaam,  the  combined  political  and  ecclesiastical  power 
of  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet — while  the  Israel  against 
whom  their  energies  will  be  directed  also  rises  to  view.  In 
the  fourth  epistle  we  have  a  still  more  impressive  correlation. 
Here  the  shadow  of  the  Great  Harlot  also  follows  in  the  suc- 
cession of  a  structural  order  that  is  fairly  demonstrative  of  the 
fact  that  we  are  in  reality  dealing  with  the  forecast  of  the  great 


56  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

generics  of  the  coming  series.  A  structural  point  with  respect 
to  this  fourth  epistle  has  perplexed  the  minds  of  men  as  great 
as  Wesley  and  Whedon.  The  structural  order  which  prevails 
in  the  book  with  respect  to  these  sevens  is  that  of  quadrate  and 
triad ;  here  it  is  reversed,  the  triad  taking  the  lead. 

This  fact  places  this  fourth  epistle  at  the  head  of  a  quad- 
rate that  is  sequent  to  that  of  the  triad.  With  respect  to  this 
Wesley  makes  the  following  scholarly  observation: 

"This  [counsel]  stands  in  the  three  former  letters  before 
the  promise;  in  the  four  later,  after  it;  clearly  dividing  the 
seven  into  two  parts,  the  first  containing  three,  the  last  four, 
letters.  The  titles  given  our  Lord  in  the  three  former  letters 
peculiarly  respect  his  power  after  his  resurrection  and  ascen- 
sion, particularly  over  his  church.  Those  in  the  four  latter, 
his  divine  glory,  and  unity  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Again,  this  word  being  placed  before  the  promises  in 
the  three -former  letters  excludes  the  false  apostles  at  Ephesus, 
the  false  Jews  at  Smyrna,  and  the  partakers  with  the  heathen 
at  Pergamos,  from  having  any  share  therein.  In  the  four 
latter,  being  placed  after  them,  it  leaves  the  promises  immedi- 
ately joined  with  Christ's  address  to  the  angel  of  the  church: 
to  show  that  the  fulfilling  of  these  was  near ;  whereas  the  others 
reach  beyond  the  end  of  the  world.  It  should  be  observed 
that  the  overcoming  or  victory  (to  which  alone  these  peculiar 
promises  are  annexed)  is  not  the  ordinary  victory  obtained 
by  every  believer,  but  a  special  victory  over  great  and  peculiar 
temptations,  by  those  that  are  strong  in  faith." 

These  observations  give  evidence  of  the  careful  research  as 
well  as  deep  penetration  of  mind  that  ever  characterized  Wes- 
ley's quest  of  truth.  They  show  that  he  caught  the  spirit,  at 
least,  of  the  apocalyptic  method,  and  if  he  had  had  the  time 
for  patient  following  out  of  his  investigations  might  have  given 
us  the  plan  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  explanation  of  this  appar- 
ent anomaly  of  expression  is  found  in  the  fact  that  this 
grouping  of  the  seven  epistles  completes  the  great  exponential 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  57 

quadrate  of  the  introduction.  It  throws  the  spiritual  forces 
in  the  foreground  and  these  of  the  quadrate  as  sequent.  At  the 
head  of  this  fourth  position  in  the  ampHfication  of  the  series 
of  the  book  we  will  find  a  glorious  Woman  whom  we  will  see 
descend  from  the  heavenly  spaces  to  cower  in  the  wilderness, 
from  which  point  we  will  later  see  emerging  the  great  Mother 
of  Harlots  and  abominations  of  the  earth.  She  lifts  before 
us  again  the  mystery  of  the  Stars  and  Candlesticks,  for  the 
word  itself  is  blazoned  upon  her  forehead.  These  structural 
exponential  markings  in  the  fullness  of  their  expression  leave 
no  room  for  doubt  as  to  the  fact  that  this  fearful  characteriza- 
tion is  that  of  a  fallen  church. 

The  question  with  respect  to  the  scope  of  each  of  these 
epistles  is  most  important.  Are  they  grouped  in  an  order  of 
historical  succession  that  traverses  the  Christian  age,  or  do 
they  characterize  the  church  as  a  whole?  The  answer  to  this 
question  involves  the  construction  to  be  put  upon  the  character 
of  this  angelic  headship.  This  question  of  scope,  while  perhaps 
best  left  open  at  this  point,  can  hardly  be  considered  a  matter 
of  doubt ;  for  there  is  not  one  of  these  epistles  which  does  not, 
either  in  symbol  or  by  express  statement,  project  its  lines  for- 
ward to  the  crisal  culmination  of  the  apocalyptic  symbolism 
in  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  As  we  study  the  compre- 
hensive character  of  the  Christie  annunciation  in  each  epistle 
we  find  that  in  every  case  it  touches  profundities  that  are 
worthy  of  the  most  careful  study  as  forming  a  part  of  the 
exponential  voicing  of  the  book. 

Before  the  Ephesian  church,  patient,  true,  inflexible,  apos- 
tolic, the  characteristic  thought  lifted  to  view  is  that  of  a 
present  Christ  and  a  ministry  in  his  hand  illumined  with  the 
light  of  the  heavens.  Then  the  shadows  begin  to  gather,  and 
this  angel,  at  first  commended,  is  seen  as  fallen  from  his  first 
estate  and  with  the  removal  of  his  Candlestick  as  one  of  the 
ominous  results  impending.  Finally  victory  comes  to  this 
church  triumphant,  and  it  is  rewarded  by  regaining  what  was 


58  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

lost  in  Eden — the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  Hfe.  This  is  the  order 
of  characterization  that  obtains  with  respect  to  all  these 
churches  save  two,  one  in  the  triad  and  the  other  in  the 
quadrate  with  respect  to  which  there  are  no  shadows  and  no 
divine  rebuke.  It  will  be  noted  that  suggestions  of  progressive 
movement  from  initials  to  finalities  are  in  evidence  in  the  fact 
that,  while  this  Ephesian  epistle  incorporates  the  features  first 
disclosed  in  the  Christophany,  the  Laodicean  epistle  takes  its 
characteristic  Amen;  again,  that  the  reward  promised  begins 
with  this  initial  "tree  of  life"  and  ends  with  the  ''throne  of  his 
glory."  It  will  also  be  noted  that  the  manner  of  the  bestow- 
ment  of  this  reward  to  the  overcomers  touches  the  principle 
of  equity.  It  is  made  to  be  dependent  upon  the  character  of 
the  battle  waged  and  of  the  victory  won.  The  evidence  of 
progression  manifest  in  these  passing  phases  of  the  symbolism 
will  more  clearly  appear  in  the  amplification  of  our  theme. 
The  promise  of  his  coming  appears  in  every  epistle,  but  in  the 
three  final  it  takes  on  an  emphatic  progressive  phase :  to  Sardis, 
'T  will  come  as  a  thief;"  to  Philadelphia,  "Come  quickly;" 
while  to  Laodicea  it  is,  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and 
knock."  Holding  that  in  the  character  of  each  of  these  seven 
there  are  features  that  lead  to  their  selection  for  a  place  in 
this  body  of  mysticism,  the  conviction  is  strengthened  by  find- 
ing that  even  the  names  of  these  churches  are  not  without 
suggestion  of  an  occult  significance  equally  as  impressive  as 
anything  in  the  content  of  the  epistle  itself.  While  this  fact 
may  be  clearly  exhibited  with  respect  to  the  majority  of  these 
names,  the  principle  seems  to  be  established  with  respect  to  all, 
the  only  question  being  that  of  ability  to  penetrate  their  mean- 
ing. These  involutions  may  be  given  as  follows:  (i)  Ephe- 
sus,  a  challenge  (Nicolaitans,  conquerors  of  the  people)  ; 
(2)  Smyrna,  bitterness  (martyrdom,  rejection  of  Jews,  syna- 
gogue of  Satan)  ;  (3)  Pergamos,  the  stabbing  of  marriage 
(monasticism,  Satan's  throne,  Balak  and  Balaam,  combination 
of  political  and  spiritual  powers  against  Israel)  ;  (4)  Thyatira, 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  59 

the  orgies  of  a  frenzied  drunkard  (Jezebel,  the  adulteress  and 
her  brood,  the  dung  hill,  the  great  tribulation)  ;  (5)  Sardis, 
sweeping  away  dung  (the  dead  church,  white  robe,  seven 
Spirits)  ;  (6)  Philadelphia,  brotherly  love  (Jews  restored  to 
Israel,  great  tribulation,  open  door,  temple  of  God)  ;  (7)  Lao- 
dicea,  judgment  of  the  people  (the  rich  church  spewed  out, 
judgment  warning,  the  throne).  These,  in  brief,  are  some  of 
the  factors  of  this  epistolary  symbolism.  They  do  not  disclose 
the  mystery,  but  deepen  it.  Later  we  shall  meet  with  five 
fallen  empires ;  here  we  have  five  fallen  churches  and  two  that 
maintain  their  integrity.  In  each  case  the  mystic  principle  is 
the  same  and  its  enunciation  in  harmony  with  the  law  of  the 
book. 

With  these  guide-marks  before  us  we  will  take  up  the  study 
of  the  epistles  themselves. 

Synthetic  Adjustment 

Synthesis  here  can  hardly  be  more  than  suggested  at  the 
present  stage  of  our  study.  The  possible  imperfection  of  the 
text  itself  may  interfere  with  our  work.  Three  paragraphs 
that  are  clearly  exponential  have  now  been  placed  in  position, 
whose  expanding  content  suggests  their  point  of  correlation 
or  the  significance  of  their  voicing.  The  first  is  complete,  the 
second  a  defective  seven,  the  third — the  Christophany — a  full 
seven,  thus  determining  completeness  of  enunciation.  Follow- 
ing this,  and  in  a  manner  that  associates  the  figure  of  the 
Christophany  with  every  one  of  its  utterances,  we  have  this 
book  of  the  Christophany,  a  still  more  elaborate  seven,  which 
thus  completes  a  quadrate  of  introductory  exponents  and,  as 
will  appear,  presents  factors,  principles,  and  allusions  that  fairly 
determine  it  to  be  in  some  sense  a  miniature  reflex  of  the  great 
seven  of  the  celestial  series. 

The  synthetic  adjustment  which  may  become  possible  at  a 
later  stage  of  our  study  is  too  complex  to  be  attempted  here. 
Sufficient  if  it  can  be  shown  that  each  epistle  is  cast  in  th^ 


6o  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

same  rigid  mold,  is  governed  by  the  same  structural  law,  and 
evinces  the  same  progressive  movement  from  initials  to  final- 
ities. A  fact  that  clearly  has  structural  significance  is  that  each 
of  these  epistles  is  reducible  to  an  independent  seven  and  that 
each  presents  the  Christophanic  figure  as  in  the  foreground, 
from  whence  lights  initial  change  into  ominous  shadings  as  we 
pass  forward  to  finalities.  Among  these  are  presented  the 
personality  of  the  Spirit  performing  his  office,  retributive  pro- 
nouncement, and  divine  reward  of  the  overcomer.  This  struc- 
tural feature  may  be  best  exhibited  by  breaking  each  epistle 
up  into  its  groupings. 

The  Seven  Christophanic  Letters 

The  Epistle  to  Ephesus 
That  there  is  mysticism  in  some  of  these  epistolary  captions 
seems  so  conclusive  that  the  principle  may  be  assumed  with 
respect  to  all.  The  mystic  Ephesus  may  possibly  find  its  norm 
in  ephiemi,  with  the  significance  of  "annunciation"  or  "chal- 
lenge" ;  a  voicing  of  initials  with  a  possible  correlate  in  the 
book  of  the  Theophany,  as  will  in  due  time  appear.  The  group- 
ings of  the  epistles  are  the  same  in  each  of  the  seven,  save 
where  modifications  are  essential  to  the  development  of  the 
structural  plan.  The  following  exhibit  will  show  the  presence 
here  of  this  ranking  numeral  of  the  Apocalypse  as  clearly  as 
anywhere  in  the  book.  Profundities  everywhere  arise  which 
must  await  fuller  discussion  at  a  later  stage  of  our  study  when 
we  shall  be  better  able  to  apprehend  their  force. 

the  quadrate 

( 1 )  The  mystic  star  and  candlestick :  "Unto  the  angel  of  the 
church  of  Ephesus  write." 

(2)  The  annunciation:  "These  things  saith  he  that  holdeth 
the  seven  stars  in  his  right  hand,  who  walketh  in  the  midst  of 
the  seven  golden  candlesticks." 

(3)  Characteristic  commendation  (it  will  be  noted  here  that 


The  Book  of  the  CHRisxorHANY  6i 

we  have  a  sub-seven)  :  "I  know  thy  works,  and  thy  labor,  and 
thy  patience,  and  how  thou  canst  not  bear  them  which  are  evil : 
and  hast  tried  them  which  say  they  are  apostles,  and  are  not, 
and  hast  found  them  liars :  and  hast  borne,  and  hast  patience, 
and  for  my  name's  sake  hast  labored,  and  not  fainted." 

The  strict  classification  of  distinct  ideas  in  this  utterance 
fairly  determines  that  it  has  but  six  members  of  its  groupings, 
which  fact  touches  the  exponential  principle. 

(4)  Characteristic  reprehension:  ''Nevertheless  I  have  some- 
what against  thee,  because  thou  hast  left  thy  first  love.  Re- 
member therefore  from  whence  thou  art  fallen,  and  repent,  and 
do  thy  first  works ;  or  else  I  will  come  unto  thee  quickly,  and 
will  remove  thy  candlestick  out  of  his  place,  except  thou 
repent." 

THE  TRIAD 

(5)  The  trine  part  of  this  epistle  begins  with  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Nicolaitans,  the  conquerors  of  the  people.  This 
fact  should  be  carefully  kept  in  mind,  as  it  may  possibly  have  a 
most  important  correlate  in  the  same  structural  position  in  the 
amplifications  of  the  larger  series:  "But  this  thou  hast,  that 
thou  hatest  the  deeds  of  the  Nicolaitans,  which  I  also  hate." 

(6)  Structural  anticipation  of  the  Pneumatophany :  "He 
that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches." 

(7)  Apocalyptic  finalities:  "To  him  that  overcometh  will  I 
give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the 
paradise  of  God." 

Three  times  this  Spirit  voicing  is  uttered  in  the  same  struc- 
tural position,  and  then  it  assumes  terminal  position  in  each  of 
the  following  groupings.  As  a  refinement  in  the  adjustment  of 
the  symbolism  of  the  book  it  will  be  noted  that  at  the  same 
structural  point  in  the  larger  series  the  thunders  and  lightnings 
of  the  throne  voicings  change  places;  a  most  important  coin- 
cidence, which  will  not  only  serve  to  throw  light  upon  the 


62  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

structure  of  the  book  but  upon  the  character  of  its  content 
as  well.  In  this  fact  we  have  the  solution  of  that  peculiarity, 
previously  noted,  that  perplexed  Wesley  and  Whedon. 

The  church  at  Ephesus  was  one  of  the  most  important  of 
the  apostolic  churches.  It  was  planted  by  Saint  Paul  and  was 
the  scene  of  some  of  his  most  heroic  labors  and  experiences. 
Ephesus  had  the  preeminence  of  being  the  royal  city  of  Ionia, 
and  bore  the  honorable  title  of  ''the  first  and  greatest  metrop- 
olis of  Asia."  This  prominence  enjoyed  by  the  capital  of  the 
country  was  very  naturally  shared  by  the  church  that  was 
founded  there,  giving  it  a  prestige  that  soon  led  to  its  exer- 
cising metropolitan  powers  over  all  the  churches  of  the  region. 
After  Paul's  first  visit  Apollos,  the  eloquent  Alexandrian, 
preached  here  and  ended  a  pastorate  of  meager  results  because, 
though  ''instructed  in  the  way  of  the  Lord,"  he  knew  "only 
the  baptism  of  John,"  Here  in  the  humble  home  of  Priscilla 
and  Aquila  the  larger  light  came  to  him,  and  from  thence 
he  went  forth  with  a  new  power  that  mightily  convinced  the 
Jews  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ  and  that  established  believers 
in  the  faith.  Returning  to  Ephesus,  Paul  immediately  led  these 
half-instructed  disciples  of  Apollos  forward  into  the  fullness 
of  the  Spirit,  and  into  that  spirit  of  Christian  aggressiveness 
that  was  destined  soon  to  shake  the  pillars  of  Diana's  temple 
and  finally  to  whelm  it  in  ruin.  Here,  tradition  says,  John 
himself,  after  brooding  over  the  great  deep  of  the  Apocalypse, 
was  permitted  to  pass  the  closing  years  of  his  life  in  sweet 
fellowship  with  this  Christian  church.  Ephesus  was  thus  face  to 
face  with  the  citadel  of -that  foul  system  of  heathenism  that  was 
Intrenched  throughout  all  the  Grecian  world ;  which  fact  may 
hold  the  plausible  reason  for  placing  this  church  at  the  head 
of  this  mystic  epistolary  series.  At  the  time  of  the  writing  of 
this  book  it  was  a  bright  lamp  upon  the  golden  lampstand. 

The  commendation  which  courses  through  the  first  sub- 
seven  seems  hardly  In  keeping  with  the  sharp  reprehension 
that  follows  in  the  adverse  sub-seven  of  the  next  grouping. 


The  Uook  of  the  CiiuiSTOi'iiANV  03 

The  explanation  of  this  anomaly  is  found  in  the  fact  of  the 
progressive  movement  of  the  symbolism  here  from  initials  to 
finalities,  the  same  as  in  the  larger  series  which  it  is  assumed 
as  governing.  Thus,  while  Timothy  is  conceived  by  the  pret- 
erist  to  have  been  the  "angel"  of  the  church  at  the  time  of  this 
writing,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  this  heroic  young 
preacher,  who  with  Paul  faced  the  perils  of  that  great  mission- 
ary work  that  resulted  in  establishing  Christianity  in  pro- 
consular Asia,  has  under  the  weighty  responsibilities  of  office 
become  an  episcopal  backslider ;  though,  were  such  the  fact,  it 
should  be  no  occasion  for  surprise  in  view  of  the  known  his- 
tory of  the  church.  The  scope  of  the  epistle  being  enlarged  by 
the  recognized  office  of  these  progressive  groupings,  WQ  must 
dismiss  the  thought  of  the  literal  angel. 

The  loss  of  its  first  love  is  the  point  v/hence  the  pure 
church  of  Christ  departs  from  the  faith  and  faces  the  gathering 
shadows  of  the  coming  great  apostasy.  The  scope  of  all  the 
groupings  is  that  of  the  entire  gospel  age,  reaching  up  to  the 
second  coming  of  Christ  in  this  first  epistle  as  in  the  last. 
Each  epistle  thus  presents  its  reflex,  in  miniature,  of  the  whole 
mighty  panorama  that  will  develop  In  the  celestial  series.  This 
mystic  leadership  extends  throughout  all  the  varying  phases 
of  the  panorama  even  up  to  the  end ;  from  the  time  when  Ephe- 
sus  was  warm  in  its  first  love  to  that  when  the  chill  of  spiritual 
death  settles  dow-n  upon  it  and  the  light  that  once  gleamed 
so  brightly  upon  its  lampstand  is  quenched  In  apostate  dark- 
ness. Insidious  movements  already  at  work  wall  develop  Into 
the  more  terrible  picture  to  follow.  The  seeds  of  imposture, 
of  ecclesiastical  ambitions  and  tyrannies  were  already  sprout- 
ing. Primitive  Ephesus  tore  the  cloak  from  them,  but  their 
deeds  remained,  though  execrated  by  the  church,  to  thrall 
the  future. 

The  well-known  facts  relative  to  the  heathen  cult  that  there 
confronted  the  infant  church  of  Christ  are  these:  At  Ephesus 
there  stood  the  great  temple  of  Diana,  that  w^as  celebrated  as 


64  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world.  From  it  there  radiated 
all  through  the  Greek  world  a  foul  system  of  woman  worship. 
Diana  herself  was  adored  as  a  virgin,  while  all  her  officiating 
priests  were  reputed  to  be  celibates.  One  of  the  features  of 
her  worship  involved  the  chalice  of  human  blood.  This  symbol 
will  later  appear  as  in  the  hand  of  the  great  Babylonian  harlot, 
drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints  and  the  martyrs  of  Jesus. 
This  divinity  was  crowned  with  the  crescent  moon,  which  fact 
may  touch  a  feature  of  the  Basilophany :  the  sun-robed  woman 
is  crowned  with  the  stars  and  tramples  the  moon  under  her 
feet,  the  symbol  holding  the  promise  that  Christianity  in  its 
coming  triumph  would  trample  upon  this  foul  system  of  hea- 
thenism that  dominated  the  world  of  the  seven  churches  and 
which  in  a  mystic  sense  would  dominate  the  world. 

It  will  be  observed  here  that  the  Nicolaitans  (conquerors  of 
the  people)  are  introduced  at  the  head  of  the  triad.  The  coin- 
cidences that  will  be  found  in  the  different  series  with  respect 
to  this  structural  point  are  among  the  most  impressive  phases 
of  our  study.  Archbishop  Trench  says  that  there  never  was 
such  a  sect,  though  Irenseus  may  be  quoted  to  the  contrary. 
He  says,  'The  Nicolaitans  have  Nicholas  for  their  master,  one 
of  the  first  seven  who  were  advanced  to  the  deaconship  by  the 
apostles."  This  statement  is  not  generally  accepted  as  settling 
the  question  by  those  who  have  ransacked  early  Christian  lit- 
erature, though  for  our  purpose  It  Is  sufficient  that  this  Apoc- 
alypse Itself  recognizes  this  body  of  corruptlonists  in  the 
Epheslan  church.  The  mysticism  In  the  name  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  Is  a  compound  of  two  Greek  words,  nikes  and  laos,  with 
the  meaning  given  above.  The  suggestion  that  rises  Is  that 
in  this  symbol  we  may  have  the  norm  of  that  politico-ecclesi- 
astical coalition  which  will  slowly  expand  In  the  passing  of 
the  panorama  until  we  shall  see  It  triumphant  over  a  dead 
church  and  thralling  the  whole  earth.  Closely  following  these 
Nicolaitans,  and  associate  with  them,  we  shall  find  the  false 
prophet,  the  "devourer  of  the  people,"  and  then  a  great  ecclesi- 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  65 

astic  adulteress,  who  corrupts  the  church,  but  whose  foul  brood 
of  children  are  to  be  finally  smitten  with  death. 

The  spiritual  phase  of  the  despotism,  which  we  shall  behold 
in  this  symbolism  as  in  coalition  with  the  state  and  unitedly 
thralling  the  earth,  is  but  the  faithful  mystic  transcript  of  that 
which  is  disclosed  in  the  pages  of  history  as  both  conquering 
and  devouring  the  people  and  crushing  them  into  slavery  the 
most  abject  that  the  world  has  ever  known;  exalting  itself 
above  all  that  is  called  God  or  that  is  worshiped,  sitting  in 
the  temple  of  God  and  proclaiming  that  it  is  God,  and  hurling 
its  anathemas  right  and  left  upon  the  heads  of  all  who  might 
have  the  hardihood  to  question  its  prerogative.  As  the  fearful 
nightmare  of  the  ages  it  maintains  its  odious  existence  up  to 
the  present  hour,  the  object  of  a  craven  fear  and  of  idolatrous 
adulation.  The  two  final  members  of  this  seven,  relating  to 
the  office  of  the  Spirit  and  the  bestowment  of  the  reward,  the 
finality  of  each  epistle,  will  also  be  of  the  book. 

The  Epistle  to  Smyrna 
the  quadrate 
(i)  The  Christophanic  command  to  the  writer:  "And  unto 
the  angel  of  the  church  in  Smyrna  write." 

(2)  The  annunciation:  "These  things  saith  the  First  and  the 
Last,  which  was  dead,  and  is  alive." 

(3)  Characteristic  commendation:  "I  know  thy  works,  and 
tribulation,  and  poverty,  (but  thou  art  rich,)  and  I  know  the 
blasphemy  of  them  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and  are  not,  but 
are  of  the  synagogue  of  Satan." 

(4)  Disclosure  of  the  coming  ordeal  of  martyrdom:  "Fear 
none  of  those  things  which  thou  shalt  suffer.  Behold,  the 
Devil  shall  cast  some  of  you  into  prison,  that  ye  may  be  tried. 
And  ye  shall  have  tribulation  ten  days." 

THE   TRIAD 

(5)  The  assurance  of  the  crown:  "Be  thou  faithful  unto 
death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life." 


66  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

(6)  Structural  voicing  from  the  Spirit:  "He  that  hath  an  ear, 
let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches." 

(7)  The  final  reward  of  victory:  ''He  that  overcometh  shall 
not  be  hurt  of  the  second  death." 

The  transition  from  Ephesus  to  Smyrna  brings  us  into  the 
atmosphere  of  martyrdom.  For  the  angel  of  this  bleeding 
church  the  INIaster  has  no  rebuke,  but  holds  over  his  head  a 
crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away.  There  is  only  one  other 
angel  of  the  seven  with  whom  there  is  this  association  of  the 
crown — the  Philadelphian ;  the  only  other  church  for  which 
the  Master  has  no  rebuke. 

The  root  meaning  of  the  word  Smyrna  is  myrrh ;  or,  in  sym- 
bol, bitterness.  Myrrh  was  pressed  to  the  lips  of  the  Chief 
Martyr  upon  the  cross,  and  thus  assumes  pointed  significance, 
as  it  is  mystically  displayed  in  the  caption  of  this  epistle  of 
martyrdom.  Here  Christ  speaks  to  the  martyrs  of  all  ages; 
whether  dying  in  the  Roman  amphitheater,  under  fang  and 
claw  of  the  ravenous  beasts  of  the  jungle,  or  in  the  Roman 
Inquisition,  thronged  by  beasts  more  bloodthirsty,  more  fero- 
cious than  darkest  heathenism  ever  turned  loose  upon  helpless 
womanhood  and  childhood  in  the  days  of  the  inhuman  Nero. 
The  statements  here  made  in  the  annunciation  and  characteri- 
zation lead  up  to  the  thought  of  the  eternal  being  of  Christ,  as 
well  as  to  that  of  his  martyrdom  and  resurrection ;  considera- 
tions of  the  greatest  importance  to  these  followers  of  his  who 
would  be  called  to  face  the  fagots  and  lions  in  witnessing  for 
their  faith.  What  a  blessed  assurance,  what  a  source  of  strength 
in  the  midst  of  these  scenes  of  blood,  to  know  that  the  Master's 
eye  was  upon  them,  and  that  beyond  the  crackling  flames  and 
the  hot  breath  of  the  lion  and  the  heathen  roar  at  the  sight 
of  their  dying  agonies  there  awaited  them  the  '*crown  of  life" 
and  a  joint  heirship  with  Christ  that  would  make  them  the 
millionaires  of  eternity ! 

We  may  note  here  how  eternity  estimates  values.    This  poor 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  67 

church,  in  its  crimson  robes  of  martyrdom,  is  in  rcaHty  the  rich 
church,  while  the  rich  church  which  will  later  appear  is,  as 
weighed  in  these  apocalyptic  balances,  the  poor  church. 

This  picture  of  the  arena,  the  howling-  mob  of  demons,  so 
full  of  terror,  was  offset  by  another — perhaps  they  saw  it — the 
angels  of  God  hovering  over  the  bloody  scene  to  convoy  their 
triumphal  spirits  down  the  golden  avenues  of  the  celestial 
city.  The  altar  scene  of  the  seals  will  again  lift  before  us  this 
mystery  of  permissive  suft'ering  for  the  right. 

The  great  central  theme  of  all  Old  Testament  prophecy  has 
respect  to  the  choice  of  the  seed  of  Abraham  as  the  peculiar 
people  of  Jehovah.  To  this  wandering  sheik  of  the  desert  is 
given  the  pledge,  attested  in  the  most  solemn  manner  by  the 
oath  of-  God  himself,  that  he  should  become  the  heir  of  the 
world.  This  divine  pledge  in  the  beginning  is  not  made  con- 
tingent, upon  associate  conditions.  The  later  covenant,  made 
with  his  descendants  at  Sinai,  was  involved  in  alternativity : 
if  it  should  be  broken  its  provisions  would  be  disannulled;  this 
chosen  people  would  be  cast  off  by  Jehovah  throughout  a 
long  punitive  period,  but  not  forever.  They  would  lose  the 
light  that  had  been  thus  divinely  given  to  them  and  be  left  to 
grope  in  the  darkness  of  the  heathenism  they  had  chosen.  They 
w^ould  be  scattered  throughout  all  the  earth  and  cruelly  trodden 
under  the  foot  of  oppression  until  the  very  memory  of  them 
w^ould  cease  from  among  men — not  the  Jew\  for  he  was  to 
continue  as  the  conservator  of  the  oracles  of  God,  which  were 
divinely  committed  to  his  care,  but  Israel  as  a  whole :  not  to  be 
assimilated  by  the  great  ocean  of  humanity  within  wdiich  they 
w^ould  disappear,  but  to  retain  their  racial  integrity  and  in 
the  great  day  of  the  jVIessiah  be  sought  out  by  him,  as  the  lost 
sheep  of  the  ''house  of  Israel,"  and  restored  once  more  to 
divine  favor;  and  in  this  Alcssianic  restoration  the  Abrahamic 
covenant,  as  supplemented  by  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant 
that  would  be  made  with  both  these  houses  of  Israel  and  Judah, 
would  be  infallibly  fulfilled.    The  scepter  in  the  hand  of  Judah 


68  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

would  depart  from  him  at  the  coming  of  the  Shiloh.  The  king- 
dom taken  from  him  would  be  given  to  another  nation  that 
would  bring  forth  the  fruits  thereof ;  not  the  Gentile  races,  but, 
as  certified  by  the  prophets,  to  the  royal  house  of  Joseph,  to 
whom  the  dying  patriarch  solemnly  passed  the  Abrahamic 
legacy  of  blessing. 

Having  ascertained  how  marvelously  these  facts  are  made 
to  course  throughout  the  whole  body  of  Old  Testament  proph- 
ecy and  to  receive  unqualified  indorsement  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, it  would  seem  that  if  the  Apocalypse,  as  the  prophetic 
peroration  of  the  divine  Book,  should  fail  to  take  note  of 
this  great  burden  of  all  anterior  prophecy  it  might  be  urged 
as  a  point  against  its  divine  inspiration.  It  is  refreshing  to  find 
that  underneath  its  occultism  we  have  the  continuity  and  culmi- 
nation of  this  mighty  Old  Testament  theme.  In  fact,  this  book 
cannot  be  understood  until  we  recognize  the  fact  that  it  is  the 
most  Hebrew  of  all  the  Hebrew  books. 

In  this  Smyrnean  epistle  we  have  what  in  didactic  prose 
would  be  simply  a  terse  paragraph  dealing  with  the  irascible 
Jew,  but  in  the  light  of  this  apocalyptic  method  marks  the 
fact  of  his  threatened  excision.  Here,  in  the  presence  of  this 
pure  martyr  church,  though  flaunting  his  Abrahamic  lineage 
in  the  face  of  the  world,  he  is  characterized  as  a  blasphemer 
and  disowned  by  the  Christ  whom  he  has  rejected.  Here  he 
disappears,  as  an  individual  factor  of  this  series,  until  the 
purified  Church  of  Brotherly  Love  shall  arise,  when  we  shall 
meet  him  again  as  a  devout  worshiper  at  the  feet  of  the  angel 
of  Philadelphia.  History  shows  that  these  Smyrnean  Jews 
were  not  inaptly  given  this  dark  characterization.  They  were 
among  the  fiercest  persecutors  of  the  early  Christian  church. 
It  is  the  savage  bigotry  of  their  Satanic  synagogue  which  first 
lights  the  fires  of  persecution.  Under  the  Satanic  throne,  next 
to  rise  before  us  in  the  Pergamean  epistle,  it  will  expand  into 
the  greatest  horror  of  the  Christian  age. 

While  the  characterization  is  especially  fitting  to  the  Smyr- 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  69 

nean  situation,  it  lifts  before  us  a  generic  principle.  They  say 
they  are  Jews,  and  fairly  nauseate  you  with  their  professions 
of  divine  right  and  superior  sanctity,  while  their  hands  are 
reeking  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus,  and  the  devil 
himself  could  hardly  give  a  greater  caricature  of  the  spirit  of 
the  gospel  of  Christ.  In  the  remains  of  early  Christian  litera- 
ture we  have  an  interesting  letter  written  by  this  church  of 
Smyrna  to  the  sister  church  at  Philomelum,  and  thence  to  be 
sent,  as  a  circular  letter,  the  round  of  the  churches.  It  relates 
that  after  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  had  been  apprehended 
and  condemned,  the.  Jews  were  the  most  eager  for  his  death. 
''This  was  done  with  greater  speed  than  it  was  spoken,  the 
whole  multitude  instantly  gathering  together  wood  and  fagots 
out  of  the  workshops  and  booths ;  the  Jews  especially,  accord- 
ing to  their  custom,  assisting  them  in  doing  it."  After  the 
death  of  the  bishop  the  governor  was  dissuaded  from  giving  his 
remains  to  his  friends,  under  the  pretense  that  they  might  for- 
sake him  that  was  crucified  and  begin  to  worship  Polycarp. 
"This  they  did  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Jews,  who  also  watched 
us  that  we  should  not  take  him  out  of  the  fire,  not  considering 
that  it  is  impossible  for  us  either  to  forsake  Christ,  who  suf- 
fered for  the  salvation  of  all  such  as  shall  be  saved  throughout 
the  world,  or  to  worship  any  other."  The  spirit  of  persecution 
has  but  one  source  of  inspiration :  it  is  always  and  everywhere 
Satanic.  That  this  book,  written  before  the  close  of  the  first 
century,  should  be  able  to  draw  its  picture,  from  its  inception 
in  Jewish  hate  until  it  flowers  forth  in  the  bloody  orgies  of  the 
great  Babylonian  harlot,  is  an  overwhelming  proof  of  the  divine 
origin  of  the  Apocalypse.  "They  say  they  are  Jews,  and  are 
not,"  covers  the  case  of  ecclesiastical  pretense  and  arrogant 
assumption,  whether  conceived  of  these  Smyrnean  persecutors 
stoning  and  burning  the  saints  of  the  early  church,  or  of  a 
Gregory  gloating  over  the  blood  of  the  slaughtered  Hugue- 
not, or  the  tyrant  that  turns  the  wheels  of  the  modern  rack  or 
with  pincers  equally  as  hot  as  those  of  Torquemada  perpetuates 


70  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  horror  of  rehgioiis  persecution  in  the  earth.  They  say 
they  are  Jews — and  may  be  able  to  estabhsh  the  fact  of  descent 
or  succession — but  Christ  says  that  they  are  not,  and  here 
photographs  them  for  all  time  in  the  white  light  of  the 
Christophany. 

The  "ten  days"  of  Smyrnean  tribulation,  in  the  hands  of  the  his- 
toricist,  are  made  to  forecast  "the  ten  persecutions,"  though  the 
fierce  fires  of  the  Neronic  tribulation  lay  far  behind  this  point 
of  the  Patmos  vision.  The  apocalyptic  ten  is  not  a  literalism. 
While  there  are  ten  horns  upon  the  profane  heads  of  the  beast 
w^earing  the  usurped  diadems  of  Christ,  they  will  tear  and 
rend  his  church.  This  ominous  "tribulation"  is  not  confined 
to  Smyrna;  it  involves  Philadelphia,  and,  in  fact,  in  Philadel- 
phia expands  itself  to  universal  proportions.  Out  of  it  will 
come  the  great  white-robed  throng  whom  no  man  can  number, 
who  will  shout  their  victory  in  the  presence  of  the  throne  of 
God  and  the  Lamb.  The  seven  churches  are  the  one  universal 
church  as  the  seven  spirits  are  the  eternal  Spirit.  The  great 
tribulation  shadows  the  whole  great  field  where  they  fight 
their  battle  and  win  their  victory.  The  last  phase  of  its 
ominous  shadow  may  not  pass  from  earth  until  harlot,  beast, 
and  dragon  shall  all  go  down  before  the  flaming  sword  of 
Armageddon. 

The  Epistle  to  Pergamos 

THE  quadrate 

(i)  Christophanic  command  to  the  writer:  "And  to  the  angel 
of  the  church  in  Pergamos  write." 

(2)  The  annunciation:  "These  things  saith  he  that  hath  the 
sharp  sword  with  two  edges." 

(3)  Characteristic  commendation:  "I  know  thy  works,  and 
where  thou  dwellest,  where  Satan's  throne  Is :  and  thou  boldest 
fast  my  name,  and  hast  not  denied  my  faith,  even  in  those 
days  wherein  Antipas  was  my  faithful  martyr,  who  was  slain 
among  you,  where  Satan  dwelleth." 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  71 

(4)  Characteristic  reprehension:  "But  I  have  a  few  things 
against  thee,  because  thou  hast  there  them  that  hold  the  doc- 
trine of  Balaam,  who  taught  Balak  to  cast  a  stumbling-block 
before  the  children  of  Israel :  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to  idols, 
and  to  commit  fornication." 


THE   TRIAD 

(5)  "So  hast  thou  also  them  that  hold  the  doctrine  of  the 
Nicolaitans,  which  thing  I  hate.  Repent;  or  else  I  will  come 
unto  thee  quickly,  and  will  fight  against  them  with  the  sword 
of  my  mouth." 

(6)  Voicing  of  the  Spirit :  "He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear 
what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches." 

(7)  The  reward  of  victory:  "To  him  that  overcometh  w^ill  I 
give  to  eat  of  the  hidden  manna,  and  will  give  him  a  white 
stone,  and  in  the  stone  a  new  name  written,  which  no  man 
knoweth  saving  he  that  receiveth  it." 

The  reader  will  note  the  close  structural  correspondence 
between  this  fourth  paragraph  and  that  of  the  preceding  epistle 
of  Smyrna. 

The  issues  which  rise  before  us  in  this  epistle  give  suggestion 
of  an  advanced  standpoint  of  characterization.  The  panorama 
becomes  more  complex,  with  a  deeper  shade  of  coloring  and  a 
profounder  cast  of  mystic  expression.  In  Ephesus  we  have  a 
church  that  has  lost  its  first  love ;  in  Smyrna  a  pure  church 
confronted  by  the  Satanic  spiritual  power  and  dying  for  the 
faith.  Here  in  Pergamos  the  antagonizing  factor  is  the  Satanic 
throne,  the  political  power,  which  combines  with  the  spiritual 
under  the  figure  of  Balaam  and  Balak — the  false  prophet  and 
the  king — and  as  thus  placed  in  exponential  position,  in  this 
third  member  of  this  epistolary  triad,  squares  with  the  demons 
which  arise  from  the  pit  and  the  waters  of  the  great  Euphrates. 
In  the  Ephesian  epistle  the  Nicolaitans  are  introduced  under 
the  fifth  paragraph,  where  their  deeds  are  a  source  of  divine 


72  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

hate.  Here  at  the  same  structural  point  their  deeds  assume 
the  phase  of  formulated  doctrine  against  which  the  divine 
hatred  continues,  but  which  the  church  no  longer  hates  but 
holds.  In  the  Smyrnean  epistle  the  Jew  is  cast  off  in  his 
blasphemy.  Here  Israel  is  introduced;  not  simply  by  way  of 
allusion,  but  as  one  of  the  mystic  factors  of  the  symbolism,  in 
the  same  sense  as  Balaam  and  Balak,  the  Nicolaitans  and  the 
throne  of  Satan.  These  parallels  of  this  exponential  triad 
with  the  amplifications  of  the  great  triad,  which  completes  its 
utterance  in  the  book  of  the  Theophany,  will  be  shown  to  pos- 
sess refinements  that  may  be  more  clearly  apprehended  after 
the  amplifications  themselves  have  been  carefully  studied. 

The  reader  will  note  the  spiritual  character  of  these  rewards : 
to  the  Ephesian  "the  tree  of  life" ;  to  the  Smyrnean  "the  crown 
of  life" ;  while  to  the  Pergamean  it  is  "the  hidden  manna," 
"the  white  stone,"  and  "the  new  name." 

This  stumbling-block  that  is  thrown  in  the  way  of  Israel  is 
by  the  political  power,  as  under  the  spell  of  the  adverse  spir- 
itual power,  and  consists  of  two  counts — idolatry  and  debauch- 
ery. We  have  noted  the  fact  that  in  each  of  these  epistles 
some  separate  feature  of  the  Christophanic  paraphernalia  is 
thrown  into  the  foreground  in  connection  with  the  annuncia- 
tion. Here  it  is  the  sharp  sword  with  two  edges — on  the  one 
side,  this  infernal  coalition;  on  the  other,  there  flashes  into 
visibility  the  weapon  which  will  finally  transfix  and  destroy 
them.  The  warning  given  in  this  fifth  paragraph,  that  deploys 
these  Nicolaitans,  is  an  advent  utterance,  and  forecasts  the 
action  of  this  sword  against  this  combine  upon  the  great  field 
of  Armageddon,  and  thus  serves  to  identify  these  powers  with 
those  that  will  rise  before  us  there. 

With  this  delicate  mystic  tracery  before  us  we  are  not  sur- 
prised to  find  that  the  caption  of  this  epistle  holds  the  key 
that  throws  open  these  avenues  of  idolatrous  sensualism.  The 
word  Pergamos  is  unquestionably  a  compound  of  per  and 
gamos.     The  latter  word  means  "marriage."     Let  this  prefix 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  ']2i 

but  be  derived  from  perao,  the  meaning  of  which  is  to  pierce, 
stab,  transfix,  and  the  derivative  becomes  startHng — the  stab- 
bing OF  MARRIAGE.  This  word,  then,  at  the  head  of  this  epistle, 
in  which  we  behold  the  coalition  of  the  spiritual  and  political 
powers  against  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  becomes  the  index  finger 
pointing  to  that  monastic  abomination  which  in  the  future  was 
destined  not  only  to  stab  this  divine  institution  but  to  become 
the  source  of  more  impurity  and  debauchery,  perhaps,  than 
any  other  scheme  ever  devised  by  the  devil  and  imposed  upon 
deluded  humanity.  Licentiousness  here  shown  in  the  bud  will 
flower  in  the  next  epistle  and  find  its  amplification  in  the  Baby- 
lonian symbolism. 

A  careful  study  of  this  episode  of  Balaam  and  Balak,  in  the 
book  of  Numbers,  will  disclose  numerous  teaching  points  that 
are  surprisingly  apposite  to  the  situation  that  is  here  developed 
in  mystic  characterization.  Ephesus  contained  the  temple  of 
the  Virgin;  Pergamos  held  that  of  the  doctors — doctors  of 
divinity,  in  fact — with  a  cult  just  as  devoted  to  iEsculapius, 
and  with  a  bigotry  no  less  contemptible  than  that  which  char- 
acterized the  worship  of  Diana.  It  is  interesting  to  note  here 
that  the  recognized  professional  pride,  caste  ideas,  and  habit 
of  exclusiveness  which  still  so  powerfully  dominate  the  doc- 
torate, whether  therapeutic  or  theological,  is  not  of  recent 
origin.  Sad  indeed  for  early  Christian  purity  was  the  practice 
of  these  mystic  doctors  of  Pergamos.  Dr.  Balaam,  the  ^'de- 
vourer  of  the  people."  was  the  dean  of  the  faculty,  and  taught 
Dr.  Balak,  the  "waster,"  both  of  whom  prepared  the  way  for 
the  Nicolaitans,  the  "conquerors  of  the  people."  Their  success 
was  so  satisfactory  to  the  devil  that  he  gave  them  his  throne 
and  very  largely  yielded  his  business  into  their  hands.  Balaam, 
the  false  prophet,  confronted  Israel  in  the  wilderness;  Balak, 
the  secular  power,  sought  to  use  the  influence  of  the  cunning 
sorcerer  to  turn  their  triumphant  march  toward  the  Promised 
Land  into  an  ignominious  defeat.  In  a  mystic  sense  these 
characters  are  again  brought  forward  to  stand  upon  the  hill- 


74  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

tops  of  this  symbolism,  as  they  then  stood  upon  the  peaks  of 
the  land  of  Moab,  to  repeat  their  eursing  of  Israel.  Balaam 
was  loud  in  religious  profession.  Standing  in  the  presence 
of  the  king,  with  his  palms  itching  for  his  gold,  he  is  the 
incorruptible  prophet  of  the  true  God.  His  is  such  an  ingenu- 
ous disinterestedness  that  he  could  not  be  induced  to  swerve 
from  the  line  of  duty  in  the  presence  of  a  whole  house  full  of 
gold.  Such  incorruptible  integrity  ought  to  have  put  Balak 
to  the  blush  when  he  contemplated  the  possibility  of  deflecting 
such  a  virgin  soul  from  its  lofty  course  by  the  jingle  of  his 
gold.  But  underneath' the  sheep's  clothing  was  the  wolf.  His 
manifest  eagerness  for  Balak's  shekels  gives  the  lie  to  all  of 
his  professions  of  disinterested  incorruptibility.  No  doubt  he 
was  as  much  surprised  as  was  Balak  himself  at  that  divine 
interposition  in  the  behalf  of  Israel  which  turned  his  fulmina- 
tions  of  anathema  into  a  blessing.  Though  he  was  at  the 
time  a  great  disappointment  to  the  king,  there  is  no  room  to 
doubt  that,  after  the  futility  of  his  cursing,  he  retrieved  him- 
self by  those  lessons  of  lewdness  and  idolatry  which  became 
more  effective  in  the  hand  of  the  king  than  all  his  senseless 
incantations  had  been.  Balaam  claimed  to  be  a  prophet,  and 
the  state  recognized  him  as  such  and  attempted  to  use  him 
for  the  accomplishment  of  its  own  designs,  while  he  as  eagerly 
took  advantage  of  his  opportunity  to  advance  his  own  ambi- 
tious schemes  in  thus  securing  wealth  and  position  which 
would  aggrandize  him  before  the  world.  These  facts  are  all 
in  the  background  of  this  mystic  characterization,  and  are  thus 
thrown  upon  the  screen  to  picture  the  insidious  workings  of 
that  politico-ecclesiastical  power  which  in  its  despotic  usurpa- 
tions has  darkened  the  heavens  and  caused  the  earth  to  weep 
tears  of  blood.  The  doctrine  of  Balaam  is  that  of  selfish  ter- 
giversation and  idolatrous  corruption.  Its  ramifications  cover 
the  whole  field  of  hypocrisy  in  religion  and  of  false  pretense 
in  secular  life.  Mere  words  could  not  have  so  powerfully 
painted  the  picture  of  ecclesiastical  intrigue  and  political  chi- 


The  Book  of  tpie  CriRiSToniANY  75 

cancry  that  has  befouled  the  ages  as  has  this  apocalyptic 
pictograph  of  false  prophet  and  heathen  king. 

We  have  noticed,  perhaps,  that  this  sixth  paragraph  does 
not  change,  in  these  three  epistles,  either  in  expression  or  posi- 
tion. In  the  quadrate  to  follow  it  changes  places  with  the 
seventh  paragraph,  being  the  final  utterance  of  each  of  its 
epistles.  This  change  marks  the  point  of  the  readjustment 
of  the  structural  lines,  exponential  here,  but  amplified  in  the 
great  quadrate  of  the  book.  A  coincident  change  in  the  factors 
of  the  exponential  throne  voicings  at  the  head  of  the  book  of 
the  Pneumatophany  identifies  and  certifies  this  point  of  divi- 
sion. This  change  of  position  with  respect  to  this  pamgraph 
that  relates  to  the  office  of  the  Spirit  is  not  to  be  conceived 
as  an  arbitrary  marking  with  respect  to  the  point  of  cleavage 
between  the  triad  and  quadrate,  but  touches  one  of  the  funda- 
mental facts  of  the  symbolism.  There  are  two  utterances  of 
the  Spirit — one  in  this  triad,  the  other  in  the  quadrate;  the 
one  initial,  the  other  final.  Two  distinct  utterances  come  from 
him  in  the  production  of  the  grand  divisions  of  the  divine 
Book.  This  triad  utterance  is  antecedent  to  that  of  the  final 
paragraph,  which  is  characteristic  of  the  coming  struggle  and 
victory;  that  of  the  quadrate,  as  subsequent,  recognizes  the 
finality  of  his  dispensation.  The  reader  should  dwell  at  this 
point  until  he  clearly  perceives  the  structural  correlates  of 
this  middle  paragraph  of  this  triad.  It  will  be  noted  that  it 
is  the  sixth  of  its  grouping  and  the  second  of  its  triad.  In 
the  sixth  paragraph  of  the  seals,  which  is  the  second  section 
of  the  great  triad,  we  have  the  sealing  of  the  Spirit;  at  the 
same  point  in  the  trumpets,  the  Pneumatophany,  and  in  the 
vials  the  going  forth  of  the  antispiritual  forces. 

Within  the  lines  of  the  trilogy  we  have  the  finality  of  the 
threnody  and  the  divine  terminal  sword-flash  that  ends  the 
struggle  on  Armageddon  and  the  fire  that  falls  from  heaven; 
symbols  which  will  clear  later,  but  whose  structural  adjust- 
ment, if  recognized  here,  will  be  an  aid  to  synthetic  study. 


76  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  divine  reward  that  is  assured  these  overcomers,  it  will 
be  noted,  in  harmony  with  the  principle  of  equity  which  runs 
throughout  all  these  bestowments,  contains  a  reflex  of  the 
character  of  the  struggle  in  which  it  is  won.  Two  fierce  powers 
confront  Pergamos.  Two  fiery  ordeals  will  test  their  loyalty 
to  Christ.  A  double  reward  will  crown  their  victory.  The 
first  test  presented  is  that  of  eating  things  sacrificed  to  idols. 
Their  steadfastness  is  rewarded  by  being  permitted  to  eat  of 
the  ''hidden  manna."  The  second  test  was  in  the  solicitation 
to  sexual  license,  or  impurity.  Victory  here  gives  them  this 
priceless  gem,  with  a  new  name  written  upon  it  which  is  a 
secret  between  the  receiver  and  him  who  gives  it.  Light  may 
possibly  be  cast  upon  these  symbols  by  referring  again  to  the 
plains  of  Moab.  Within  the  center  of  that  Israelite  host  which 
Balak  and  Balaam  sought  to  destroy  was  the  tabernacle  of 
Jehovah,  which  curtained  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  containing 
the  tables  of  the  law,  Aaron's  rod,  and  a  pot  of  manna,  thus 
in  its  sacred  inclosure  hid  from  the  gaze  of  men.  On  the 
breast  of  the  white-robed  priest  who  ministered  at  its  altars 
was  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  consisting  of  twelve  precious 
stones  upon  which  were  engraved  the  names  of  the  twelve 
tribes.  The  white  stone  is  said  to  have  been  the  diamond. 
The  purity,  brilliance,  and  priceless  value  of  this  gem  are 
exponential.  It  flashes  its  celestial  fire  through  the  deep-cut 
mystery  of  this  new  and  unknown  name. 

The  reader  will  observe  that  there  is  a  consistent  relevancy 
of  thought  coursing  throughout  the  entire  scope  of  this  epistle, 
from  the  "stabbing  of  marriage"  in  its  caption  up  to  the  bestow- 
ment  of  this  priceless  gem  that  rewards  the  victor.  Pergamos 
thus  presents  its  reciprocal  phase  of  the  great  struggle,  the 
completed  picture  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  summation 
of  the  utterances  of  the  seven.  Instances  of  the  bestowment 
of  the  "new  name"  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Scrip- 
tures. It  was  given  to  Abram  in  connection  with  the  promised 
reward  of  his  faith  and  to  Jacob  in  the  morning  light  of 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  'jy 

Peniel ;  to  Osea,  at  the  head  of  the  hosts  of  Israel,  and  by 
prophetic  promise  to  Israel  itself  as  one  of  the  divine  bestow- 
ments  of  that  coming  glorious  Messianic  day  when  she  should 
come  forth  from  the  wilderness  of  her  wanderings  and  put  on 
her  white  robes  of  purity.  The  new  name  will  appear  in  the 
coming  quadrate.  It  is  that  of  Christ  himself,  one  of  a  trinity 
which  will  be  written  upon  the  victorious  Philadelphian. 

The  triad  of  the  epistles  now  completes  its  office.  It  dis- 
closes progressive  movement  in  the  fact  that  it  begins  with  the 
loss  of  the  apostolic  "first  love"  and  ends  with  the  picture  of 
gross  idolatry  and  heathen  licentiousness  as  under  the  shadow 
of  Satan's  throne.  The  quadrate  will  open  with  a  symbolism 
which  will  continue  this  descensus  averni  to  the  very  "depths 
of  Satan"  and  the  pall  of  death.  The  figure  next  to  be  thrown 
upon  the  screen  is  that  of  the  Basilophany,  which  belongs  to  the 
quadrate  of  the  great  seven,  and  whose  reflex  we  will  find 
in  this  of  the  epistles,  and  which  will  establish  the  fact  that  the 
mystic  name  of  the  fearful  monster  in  scarlet  is  Jezebel. 

The  Epistle  to  Thyatira 

THE  quadrate 

(i)  Christophanic  command:  "And  unto  the  angel  of  the 
church  in  Thyatira  write." 

(2)  Annunciation:  "These  things  saith  the  Son  of  God,  who 
hath  his  eyes  like  unto  a  flame  of  fire,  and  his  feet  like  fine 
brass." 

(3)  Characteristic  commendation:  "I  know  thy  works,  and 
charity,  and  service,  and  faith,  and  thy  patience,  and  thy  works  ; 
and  the  last  to  be  more  than  the  first." 

(4)  Characteristic  reprehension:  "Notwithstanding  I  have 
a  few  things  against  thee,  because  thou  sufferest  that  woman 
Jezebel,  which  callest  herself  a  prophetess,  to  teach  and  to 
seduce  my  servants  to  commit  fornication,  and  to  eat  things 
sacrificed  unto  idols.  And  I  gave  her  space  to  repent  of  her 
fornication ;  and  she  repented  not.     Behold  I  will  cast  her  into 


78  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

a  bed,  and  thcni  that  commit  adultery  with  her  into  great 
tribulation,  except  they  repent  of  their  deeds.  And  I  will 
kill  her  children  with  death;  and  all  the  churches  shall  know 
that  I  am  he  which  searcheth  the  reins  and  hearts :  and  I  will 
give  unto  every  one  of  you  according  to  your  works.  But 
unto  you  I  say,  and  unto  the  rest  [remnant]  in  Thyatira,  as 
many  as  have  not  this  doctrine,  and  which  have  not  known 
the  depths  of  Satan,  as  they  speak;  I  will  put  upon  you  none 
other  burden." 

THE    TRIAD 

(5)  ''But  that  which  ye  have,  hold  fast  fill  I  come." 

(6)  ''And  he  that  overcometh,  and  kcepcth  my  zvorks  unto 
the  end,  to  him  will  I  give  power  over  the  nations :  and  he 
shall  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  as  the  vessels  of  a  potter 
shall  they  be  broken  to  shivers :  even  as  I  received  of  my 
Father.     And  I  will  give  him  the  morning  star." 

(7)  ''He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit 
saith  unto  the  churches." 

The  city  of  Thyatira  lay  in  a  southeasterly  direction  from 
Pergamos ;  and  though  a  place  of  some  renown,  yet  was  of 
far  less  importance  than  this  celebrated  medical  emporium. 
It  had  a  constituency  and  environment  that  materially  differed 
from  any  and  all  of  the  three  which  form  the  triad  of  this 
epistolary  series.  At  Ephesus  Diana  held  sway,  her  worship 
creating  the  leading  industry  of  the  place — shrine  making. 
Smyrna  was  a  city  of  maritime  importance,  being  the  com- 
mercial mart  of  Asia  Minor.  Here  dwelt  a  cosmopolitan  body 
of  tradesmen  and  merchants,  which  may  possibly  account  for 
the  fact  that  the  lines  of  antagonism  w^ere  not  so  narrowed 
here  as  at  Ephesus  and  Pergamos,  where  a  community  of 
interest  arrayed  the  wiiole  body  politic  against  the  teachings 
of  Christianity.  Thyatira  was  a  city  composed  in  the  main 
of  artisans,  and  was  filled  with  their  guilds  and  lodges.  Here 
the  economic  question  was  uppermost,  and  the  trades-union 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  79 

and  the  amalgamated  brotherhood  flourished  animated  by 
principles  that  ever  sought  the  welfare  of  the  few  at  the 
expense  of  the  many.  Thus  the  lodge,  with  its  clannish  idea 
of  brotherhood,  planted  itself  squarely  in  the  way  of  that 
glorious  gospel  whose  divine  Leader,  by  precept  and  example 
and  by  the  blood  of  his  cross,  proclaimed  himself  the  brother 
of  universal  man. 

The  Tyrian  purple  so  sought  after  by  the  monarchs  and 
potentates  of  antiquity,  a  reminiscence  of  which  may  still 
be  seen  in  the  gaudy  paraphernalia  of  the  ecclesiastics  of  the 
papacy,  was  manufactured  here.  Lydia,  whom  Paul  met  on 
the  banks  of  the  Gangites  at  Philippi  and  whom  he  baptized 
as  the  first  convert  of  Europe,  was  a  seller  of  purple  from  Thy- 
atira.  Here  we  find  a  church  that  is  not  antagonized  by  mer- 
cenary shrine  maker,  persecuting  Jew,  nor  yet  by  the  bigoted 
doctor.  The  apocalyptic  symbolism  now  uncovers  profounder 
depths,  even  the  ''depths  of  Satan,"  for  they  disclose  themselves 
at  Thyatira.  Progressive  movement  is  evident  here  not  only 
in  the  rise  of  the  Satanic  synagogue,  the  Satanic  throne,  and 
now  these  Satanic  depths,  but  also  in  the  cumulative  massing 
of  symbols  that  show  that  we  have  now  reached  the  culminat- 
ing point  of  doctrinal  degeneracy  and  corruption  in  the  church 
of  Christ.  If  the  thought  be  entertained  that  in  the  char- 
acterizations of  the  three  preceding  epistles  we  have  a  fore- 
gleam  of  the  figures  which  will  meet  us  farther  on,  in  the 
process  of  this  mystic  evolution,  then  it  certainly  follows  that 
we  have  here  the  prototype  of  the  great  harlot  of  the  trilogy 
heaved  to  the  surface  out  of  these  Satanic  depths  in  the 
person  of  this  libidinous  woman.  She  bears  the  mystic  name 
of  Jezebel  (a  dunghill).  Historically,  the  unspeakable  daugh- 
ter of  the  Canaanite  king  Ethbaal,  who  became  the  power 
behind  the  Israelite  throne  and  who  through  the  subserviency 
of  the  degenerate  king  slaughtered  the  prophets  of  God  and 
established  her  own  foul  brood  of  priests  in  foremost  position 
in  the  realm  while  the  few  remaining  prophets  of  Jehovah  hid 


8o  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

in  the  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth.  The  same  factors  of  the 
alhed  spiritual  and  temporal  power  which  assert  themselves 
in  the  symbolism  of  Pergamos  rise  before  us  in  that  of  Thy- 
atira,  but  with  changed  perspective.  Balaam  and  Balak  were 
extra-Israel,  while  Jezebel  was  intrenched  behind  the  throne 
of  Israel  itself. 

This  Thyatiran  Jezebel  is  a  self-constituted  spiritual  leader; 
for  she  is  neither  called  of  God  nor  of  the  church.  She  "call- 
eth  herself.  Professedly  she  is  a  prophetess,  but,  like  Balaam, 
a  false  one,  engaged  in  the  same  Satanic  work  of  seducing 
the  church  from  its  allegiance  to  Christ  into  the  same  forms 
of  degrading  licentiousness  and  idolatry.  This  feminine  dung- 
hill has  a  brood  of  children,  of  like  odorous  character  as  her- 
self, which  the  retributive  justice  of  God  will  finally  smite 
with  death.  All  these  facts  rise  before  us  in  the  later  char- 
acterization of  the  great  scarlet  Babylonian  abomination.  She 
is,  like  Jezebel,  the  mother  of  harlots  and  the  sponsor  of 
harlotry.  She  is  arrayed  in  Thyatiran  splendor,  and  is  shown 
to  be  dominant  over  the  secular  power,  and  with  her  children, 
paramours  of  the  kings  of  the  earth,  meets  the  fiery  ordeal 
of  the  great  tribulation  which  here  looms  before  us  in  expo- 
nential characterization.  This  factor,  like  the  others  of  these 
epistles,  presents  its  varied  phases  of  development  as  the  pano- 
ramic screen  unfolds.  In  Smyrna  it  is  introduced  and  placed 
under  the  dominance  of  the  adverse  numeral  ten.  In  Thyatira 
it  rises  into  a  "great  tribulation,"  and  in  Philadelphia  it  will 
assume  universal  proportions.  In  the  first  contrastive  counter- 
part of  the  seals  it  will  be  shown  that  it  is  indeed  so  great 
that  all  that  great  white-robed  throng  whom  no  man  can 
number  passed  through  it,  and  vast  multitudes  of  them  under 
its  gory  altar,  and  thus  in  all  parts  of  the  earth,  washed  their 
garments  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

The  malodorous  name  of  Jezebel  is  not  here  given  to  this 
licentious  corrupter  of  the  early  church  merely  as  an  epithet 
of  contempt,  but  because  of  the  fact  that  the  historic  situation 


The  Book  of  the  Christofhany  8i 

associate  with  her  name,  hke  that  associate  with  the  name 
of  Balaam,  presents  a  mystic  reflex  of  apocalyptic  truth. 
Occultly  they  hold  before  us  the  progressive  phases  of  the 
great  apostasy  from  the  primitive  purity  of  the  faith  of  Christ. 
Idolatrous  sensualism  would  thrall  the  church,  seize  the  reins 
of  temporal  power,  and  as  characteristically  throned  upon  its 
beastly  back  it  would  ride  forward^  in  its  drunken  debauch  of 
blood,  into  the  thunder-roads  of  divine  retribution.  It  is  well 
known  how  nearly  this  fetid  dunghill  of  Baalism  came  to  ex- 
tinguishing the  worship  of  Jehovah  in  the  Israelite  realm. 
This  bloody  queen  had  so  slaughtered  the  prophets  that  we 
hear  Elijah  asserting  that  he  alone  is  left.  Both  Balaam  and 
Jezebel  were  devotees  of  the  same  gross  system  of  idolatry, 
the  fiery  Molochism  of  the  Tyrian  sun  god.  It  is  instructive 
that  both  direct  their  efforts  at  the  corruption  of  Israel  through 
the  same  channels  of  compromise  with  idolatry  and  heathen 
licentiousness,  though,  as  it  will  be  observed,  the  order  of  the 
teaching  is  reversed.  With  Balaam  it  is  the  idolatry  that  leads, 
while  with  Jezebel  it  is  licentiousness.  After  the  sublime 
contest  on  Carmel  so  great  was  her  power,  so  terrific  her 
fury,  that  Elijah  himself,  after  boldly  facing  the  king  and  the 
four  hundred  priests  of  Baal,  quailed  before  her,  and  at  a  word 
fled  for  his  life  to  the  distant  cave  of  Horeb.  It  is  simply 
one  of  the  marvels  of  this  Apocalypse  that  it  should  have  been 
able  in  the  first  century,  in  the  solitudes  of  Patmos,  to  thus 
paint  the  fearful  picture  of  what  the  church-enthralled  state 
would  do  in  the  coming  ages. 

The  hieroglyph  in  the  caption  of  this  epistle,  like  that  in 
Pergamos,  is  profoundly  impressive.  The  word  tJiyas  means 
a  frenzied  drunken  devotee  of  the  god  Bacchus,  while  the 
word  fcira  means  ''signs,"  "wonders,"  ''prodigies,"  which  as 
combined  in  the  derivative,  Thyatira,  give  a  truly  marvelous 
foregleam  of  the  drunken  debauch  of  the  bloody  mother. 

In  the  presence  of  this  "prophetess"  stands  the  figure  of  the 
Christophany.    His  eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  his  feet  as 


82  The  Last  AIessage  of  Jesus  Christ 

fine  brass  (lo.  i).  With  the  one  he  will  search  out  her  deeds 
of  darkness  and  with  the  other  tread  her  down  in  the  great 
wine  press  of  the  wrath  of  God.  And  yet  another,  a  structural 
reason,  may  appear  for  the  presentation  of  these  two  features 
of  the  Christophanic  paraphernalia  in  this  situation.  In  them 
we  have  a  prolepsis  of  the  coming  Pneumatophany,  which  in 
an  especial  manner  will  confront  the  great  harlot  as  the  Chris- 
tophanic figure  confronts  her  here.  This  figure  of  the  book 
of  the  Christophany  is  thus  shown  to  be  strikingly  correlate 
with  that  which  will  arise  to  view  in  the  coming  book  of  the 
Pneumatophany.  The  transformations  simply  show  the  pro- 
gressive phases  of  this  mystic  evolution. 

This  structural  principle  is  the  all-important  feature  to  be 
fixed  in  mind  at  this  point  because  of  its  exponential  value  with 
respect  to  anterior  and  sequent  figures.  After  the  Pneuma- 
tophany, which  presents,  external  to  its  veiling  cloud,  only  the 
face  and  feet  of  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  development  of 
its  book  begins  with  the  portraiture  of  a  glorious  woman, 
exalted  to  the  heavenly  spaces,  clothed  with  the  light  of  the 
sun  and  crowned  with  the  stars,  who  descends  to  flee  before 
the  hot  breath  of  the  dragon  and  to  cower  in  the  wilderness  from 
his  presence.  From  this  point  comes  this  awful  thing  in  scarlet. 

That  the  great  Roman  apostasy  was  the  objective  point  of 
this  Thyatiran  mysticism  was  clearly  perceived  by  the  Re- 
formers, and  caustic  application  was  made  of  it  in  their 
polemics.  Here  in  Thyatira  they  beheld  the  purple  and  the 
scarlet  beginning  to  assert  themselves,  and  truth,  previously 
caught  in  the  eddying  swirl  of  error,  carried  down  to  those 
Satanic  "depths"  out  of  which  there  arises  that  dread  incarna- 
tion of  blood  and  licentiousness  that  was  destined  to  fill  the 
world  with  amazement  and  horror.  The  frenzied  and  bloody 
career  of  Jezebel  was  arrested  by  the  descent  of  the  fire  that 
fell  upon  the  altar  of  Elijah.  Fire  in  the  flaming  eyes  and 
feet  of  the  Christophany  confronts  this  mystic  adulteress.  Fire 
will  break  forth  upon  the  scarlet  monster,  and  the  smoke  of 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  83 

her  torment  will  ascend  forever  and  ever.  It  is  the  fire  angel 
who  commands  the  reaping  of  the  vine  of  the  earth,  which  is 
to  be  trodden  in  the  great  wine  press.  Coincidently  fire  falling 
from  God  out  of  heaven  ends  the  final  phase  of  the  great 
Armageddon. 

It  may  be  noted  here,  again,  that  the  involutions  of  this 
epistle  are  shown  to  be  such  that  it  is  not  possible,  with  the 
historicist,  to  conceive  of  them  as  simply  ending  at  the  gates 
of  Sardis.  Thyatira  touches  the  second  coming  and  the  end. 
While  we  may  not  speak  dogmatically  at  this  point,  if  at  all, 
with  respect  to  the  chronological  adjustment  of  the  different 
paragraphs  of  the  seven  of  this  epistle,  yet  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  it  is  sequent  to  the  "great  tribulation"  that  these 
children  of  Jezebel  are  killed  with  death ;  and  then  it  is  said, 
*'And  all  the  churches  shall  know  that  I  am  he  which  searcheth 
the  reins  and  hearts."  This  utterance  recognizes  all  the  seven 
as  still  being  intact  in  this  final  structural  position. 

Again,  they  are  exhorted  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the  triad, 
''But  that  which  ye  have,  hold  fast  till  I  come."  This  rec- 
ognizes Thyatira  as  in  militant  position  up  to  the  final  hour 
of  the  parousia  of  Christ.  The  same  construction  must  be  put 
upon  the  paragraphic  utterance  wdiich  follows:  "He  that  over- 
cometh,  and  keepeth  my  works  unto  the  end,  to  him  will  I  give 
power  over  the  nations."  The  coincidence  and  concurrence 
of  the  apocalyptic  symbolism  at  this  structural  point,  with 
respect  to  this  regal  phase,  presents  a  most  important  feature  of 
our  study.  In  the  three  preceding  epistles  the  promised  reward 
is  of  a  profoundly  spiritual  significance,  but  triumphant  Thya- 
tira crashes  into  the  nations  and  rules  them  with  a  rod  of  iron, 
and  as  a  potter's  vessel  breaks  them  to  shivers,  even  as  Christ 
himself  has  received  of  the  Father.  And  then  out  of  the  mid- 
night of  Thyatira  comes  the  harbinger  of  the  morning  in  the 
precious  promise  to  its  triumphant  host,  "And  I  will  give  unto 
him  the  morning  star." 

To  Balaam,  on  the  hills  of  Moab,  it  was  given  to  see  the 


84  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

glory  of  Israel  in  the  far-distant  "latter  days,"  when  a  Star 
would  rise  in  Jacob  and  a  Scepter  in  Israel  in  association  with 
which  Israel,  roused  like  a  lion  from  his  lair,  would  spring 
upon  the  nations,  eat  them  up,  break  their  bones,  and  pierce 
them  through  with  his  arrows.  The  unwilling  prophet  for  the 
moment  is  entranced  by  the  glorious  vision,  and  cries  out,  "Let 
me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like 
his."  The  exponential  voicings  at  the  head  of  the  book  of  the 
Pneumatophany  present  the  same  regal  issues  in  their  acclaim 
that  "the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of 
our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ."  This  victory  is  conjointly  with 
that  of  Christ,  as  he  has  received  of  the  Father. 

It  will  also  be  found  dominant  in  the  opening  scene  of  the 
book  of  the  Spirit  in  connection  with  its  maternal  figure.  Of 
this  celestial  woman  it  is  said,  "And  she  brought  forth  a  man- 
child,  who  was  to  rule  the  nations  with  a  rod  of  iron :  and  her 
child  was  caught  up  to  God  and  his  throne."  It  is  from  this 
point  that  he  was  to  rule  the  nations,  meeting  them  not  with 
ranks  of  serried  steel,  but  as  backed  by  all  the  white-robed 
armies  of  heaven  whose  one  weapon  is  the  sharp  two-edged 
sword  that  flashes  forth  from  the  lips  of  the  mighty  Leader. 
This  great  battle-charge  upon  the  field  of  Armageddon  is  thus 
given  in  the  trilogy: 

"And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold  a  white  horse,  and 
he  that  sat  upon  him  was  called  Faithful  and  True;  and  in 
righteousness  he  doth  judge  and  make  war.  His  eyes  were 
as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his  head  were  many  diadems ;  and 
he  had  a  name  written  which  no  man  knew  but  he  himself: 
and  he  was  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood,  and  his 
name  is  called  The  Word  of  God.  And  all  the  armies  which 
were  in  heaven  followed  him  upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine 
linen,  white  and  clean.  And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp 
sword,  that  with  it  he  should  smite  the  nations:  and  he  shall 
rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron :  and  he  treadeth  the  wine  press  of 
the  fierceness  and  wrath  of  Almighty  God." 


The  Book  of  the  CnRisTorHANY  85 

It  is  the  overcomcr  that  takes  the  scepter  and  gets  his 
reward  out  of  the  victory  he  wins.  It  is  the  white-robed  host 
that  triumphs  on  the  field  of  the  great  Armageddon.  Putting 
on  the  white  does  not  take  the  follower  of  Christ  out  of  the 
battle  line  of  Armageddon.  As  the  great  battle  of  the  glorified 
Leader  goes  forward,  so  does  that  of  each  of  his  followers  who 
are  joined  to  him  on  this  great  universal  field. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  clear  understanding  of  the  full  signifi- 
cance of  this  harlot  imagery  of  the  Apocalypse  the  reader 
should  familiarize  himself  with  the  fact  that  it  is  one  of  the 
most  prevalent  as  well  as  most  impressive  figures  of  Old  Testa- 
ment prophecy  that  is  employed  relative  to  the  defection  of 
the  chosen  people  of  Israel  from  their  loyalty  to  Jehovah.  Not 
only  will  it  be  seen  to  cover  these  instances  of  lapse  in  the 
distant  past;  it  will  be  in  a  most  positive  manner  projected 
into  the  distant  future  of  the  Messianic  day.  The  clearest  proof 
is  furnished  by  a  multitude  of  passages,  which  will  be  referred 
to  later,  that  this  great  defection  of  Israel  was  to  continue  far 
into  the  gospel  age,  until  the  "times  of  the  Gentiles"  should 
pass,  when  this  forsaken  one  would  be  once  more  restored  to 
the  loving  favor  of  her  Ishi  and  would  wander  from  him  no 
more  forever.  This  forecast  of  the  prophets  with  respect  to 
Israel  being  susceptible  of  such  whelming  proof,  it  becomes  a 
striking  attestation  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Apocalypse  that 
it  so  consistently  sustains  the  eschatology  of  the  prophets  in 
every  utterance  which  it  throws  upon  the  screen. 

These  depths  of  Satan  have  now  done  their  worst.  We  pass 
onward  in  the  light  of  the  slowly  ascending  morning  star.  It 
streams  down  upon  the  great  death  valley  of  Sardis. 

The  EriSTLE  to  Sardis 

Thirty  miles  southeast  of  Thyatira  lay  the  renowned  city 

of  Sardis,  celebrated  in  classic  story  as  the  once  brilliant  capital 

of  Lydia,  where  Croesus,  famed  as  the  richest  of  all  the  mon- 

archs  of  antiquity,   dazzled  the   eyes  of  the   world  with  his 


86  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

magnificence.  Sardis  fell  before  the  power  of  Cyrus,  the  great 
Elaniite  conqueror.  Its  king  was  stripped  of  all  his  treasure 
and  barely  escaped  with  his  life,  some  historians  saying  that 
as  he  lay  bound  upon  the  funeral  pyre  that  was  to  consume 
him  he  loudly  uttered  the  name  of  the  Greek  sage  Solon,  who 
had  warned  him  of  the  perils  of  his  wealth.  Cyrus,  on  hearing 
the  name,  commanded  them  to  bring  him  before  him  to  explain 
why  he  appealed  to  Solon.  His  explanation  saved  his  life,  as 
it  softened  the  heart  of  the  conqueror.  The  church  at  Sardis, 
too,  has  met  its  Cyrus.  It  has  been  stripped  of  its  wealth  and 
denuded  of  its  glory. 

The  historicist  finds  easy  sailing  upon  these  waters  of  Sardis, 
seeing  here  in  transparent  lines  the  mystic  sequence  of  Thya- 
tira.  It  was  an  ominous  word  that  punctuated  the  career  of 
the  children  of  the  harlot.  As  though  certifying  its  fulfill- 
ment, the  curtain  here  rises  upon  a  scene  that  is  shrouded  in 
the  gloom  of  spiritual  death.  Nothing  more  profoundly  im- 
presses us,  as  we  pass  forward  to  these  mystic  avenues  of 
Sardis,  than  this  all-pervading  silence  and  hush  of  the  sepul- 
cher.  Here  we  have  an  entirely  different  atmosphere  from  that 
of  any  of  the  previous  epistles.  There  is  here  no  hint  of  the 
presence  of  either  Nicolaitans  or  Balaamities,  nor  yet  of  Jeze- 
bel and  her  brood  and  the  active  depths  of  Satan.  False 
teachers  and  false  doctrine  are  not  reprehended.  The  implica- 
tion is  that  in  Sardis  the  doctrine  is  pure  though  the  church 
is  dead,  or  nearly  so.  The  depths  of  Satan  have  done  their 
sulphuric  worst.  Jezebel  and  her  children  have  thralled  the 
whole  Christian  world  and  have  left  this  awful  scene  of  spir- 
itual desolation  in  their  wake.  The  doctrine  here  held  is 
orthodox,  but  its  Christianity  merely  nominal.  The  Christo- 
phanic  reprehension  seems  to  be  severe,  yet  it  is  more  tender 
than  it  is  caustic.  The  light  of  the  morning  star  is  streaming 
down  upon  Sardis.  There  was  a  remnant  in  Thyatira  which 
escaped  the  fury  of  Jezebel,  like  the  seven  thousand  who  refused 
to  bow  their  knees  to  Baal.   Here  again,  in  the  midst  of  a  scene 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  87 

of  universal  death,  there  are  a  "few  names"  who,  Hke  the  rising 
star,  hold  the  promise  of  the  coming  morning.  Here  in  the 
epistles  we  first  catch  a  glimpse  of  that  celestial  white  which 
will  b\-  and  by  robe  a  vast  multitude  which  no  man  can  number, 
and  of  the  mighty  armies  which  will  follow  the  leadership  of 
the  multidiademed  Christ  upon  the  field  of  the  great  Arma- 
geddon. 

Sardis  also  has  its  most  impressive  hieroglyph  in  the  caption 
of  the  epistle.  In  some  parts  of  the  panorama  the  mystic 
tracery  is  most  delicate,  and  the  voicing  of  the  Spirit  sinks 
almost  to  a  mere  whisper ;  but  here  the  continuity  is  so  marked 
as  to  powerfully  stir  the  soul  of  the  historicist  if  he  has 
discovered  it.  Sar  is  the  root  of  sairo,  which  means  "to  sweep 
away."  Dcisa  is  the  Greek  for  dung.  Sweeping  away  dung! 
As  the  caption  of  Sardis,  that  seems  most  significant  as  follow- 
ing in  the  wake  of  the  great  Thyatiran  dunghill.  The  impli- 
cation is  that  from  this  point,  of  death  and  desolation,  the 
sweeping  away  from  the  earth  of  this  malodorous  mass  of  rot- 
tenness and  corruption  will  proceed.  The  symbols  drawn  from 
the  Christophanic  paraphernalia,  and  elevated  here  as  the  per- 
tinent and  instructive  exponents  of  the  characterization,  evince 
the  same  selective  relevance  as  that  which  has  been  so  strik- 
ingly displayed  in  its  adjustment  with  the  features  of  the 
previous  characterizations;  not  emblems  of  wrath,  but  assur- 
ance of  that  plenitude  of  divine  resource  that  will  both  endue 
the  church  and  sustain  it  in  the  trying  ordeal  yet  to  come. 

Paragraphic  Groupings  of  the  Epistle 

THE  quadrate 

(i)  The  Christophanic  command:  "And  unto  the  angel  of 
the  church  in  Sardis  write." 

(2)  The  annunciation:  "These  things  saith  he  that  hath  the 
seven  Spirits  of  God,  and  the  seven  stars." 

(3)  Characteristic  commendation:  "I  know  thy  works,  that 
thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest,  and  art  dead.    Be  watchful, 


88  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

and  strengthen  the  things  which  remain,  that  are  ready  to  die : 
for  I  have  not  found  thy  works  perfect  before  God." 

(4)  Characteristic  reprehension:  "Remember  therefore  how 
thou  hast  received  and  heard;  and  hold  fast,  and  repent.  If 
therefore  thou  shalt  not  watch,  I  will  come  on  thee  as  a  thief, 
and  thou  shalt  not  know  what  hour  I  will  come  upon  thee." 

the  triad 

(5)  "Thou  hast  a  few  names  even  in  Sardis  which  have  not 
defiled  their  garments ;  and  they  shall  walk  with  me  in  white : 
for  they  are  worthy." 

(6)  The  reward  of  the  overcomers:  "He  that  overcometh, 
the  same  shall  be  clothed  in  white  raiment ;  and  I  will  not  blot 
out  his  name  out  of  the  book  of  life,  but  I  will  confess  his  name 
before  my  Father,  and  before  his  angels." 

(7)  Final  voicing  of  the  Spirit:  "He  that  hath  an  ear,  let 
him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches." 

There  is  no  fact  that  stands  out  in  Old  Testament  prophecy 
with  greater  clearness  than  this:  that  the  restoration  of  Israel 
under  the  Messiah,  after  the  termination  of  the  period  of  their 
wilderness  wandering,  would  be  associated  with  a  most  gra- 
cious outpouring  of  the  Spirit.  Concurrent  with  this  there 
would  arise  once  more  a  holy  priesthood,  fully  delivered  from 
the  abominations  and  corruptions  which  thralled  them  so  long. 
The  symbols  which  are  here  elevated  in  this  annunciation  are 
suggestive  of  the  fulfillment  of  these  divine  pledges.  Here 
the  Holy  Spirit  and  a  pure  ministry  in  the  hand  of  Christ,  as 
in  the  beginning,  are  the  dominant  factors  of  the  epistle.  The 
hierarchical  dunghill  has  indeed  been  swept  away  in  the  pro- 
gressive phases  of  this  restoration  that  is  witnessed  in  Sardis. 

It  is  significant  that  in  this  characterization  of  Sardis,  of  the 
dead  church,  all  marks  of  identity,  or  suggestion  of  the  pres- 
ence of  Israel,  seem  to  vanish  away.  It  is  not  so  in  reality,  but 
because  our  dulled  vision  fails  to  apprehend  here  in  the  same 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  89 

manner  as  it  fails  to  apprehend  the  prophets  themselves.  The 
great  white-robed  throng  that  will  be  seen  in  the  next  series  as 
gathered  out  of  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe  are  Israel.  The 
purified  host  which  stands  with  the  Lamb  upon  Mount  Zion 
is  also  Israel.  It  displays  the  divine  seal  in  its  forehead  that 
was  placed  there  by  the  sunrise  angel  who  bears  the  seal  of  the 
living  God.  In  prophecy  there  is  always  a  remnant  of  this 
Israel  who  remain  true  to  God,  while  the  multitude  slumber 
in  the  great  death  valley.  Ezekiel  will  take  us  out  into  it  to 
behold  it  full  of  whitened  bones  which  the  divine  voice  will 
tell  us  are  "the  whole  house  of  Israel."  Upon  this  great  vale 
of  death  there  comes,  at  his  prophetic  call,  the  breath  which 
thrills  with  life  and  which  transforms  the  whitened  bones  into 
an  exceeding  great  army. 

As  this  army  is  thus  once  more  called  to  the  field  we  find 
that  as  the  whole  house  of  Israel,  which  the  prophet  takes 
especial  pains  to  tell  us  is  composed  of  both  the  lost  tribes  of 
Israel,  under  the  scepter  of  Joseph  as  well  as  that  of  Judah, 
it  ranges  itself  under  the  leadership  of  the  mystic  David,  whose 
throne  is  to  be  everlasting,  and  follows  him  onward  to  the 
conquest  of  the  whole  world,  thus  fulfilling  the  Abrahamic 
oath  of  Jehovah.  Clearly  there  is  not  room  for  two  such  uni- 
versals  as  this  prophetic  triumph  in  the  earth  of  resurrected 
Israel  and  that  which  also  takes  the  scepter  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment conquest  of  the  militant  church  of  Christ.  Hence,  under 
the  mystic  veilings  of  Sardis,  we  have  again  prophetic  Israel. 
The  many  prophetic  parallels  between  this  Sardian  situation 
and  that  of  Israel  in  the  day  of  its  adversity  will  be  noted 
farther  on. 

The  Christophanic  rebuke  presents  a  point  that  is  worthy 
of  more  than  passing  attention.  It  is,  'Tor  I  have  not  found 
thy  works  perfect  before  God."  Strange  indeed  that  the 
angel  of  this  dead  church  should  be  chided  for  not  measuring 
up  to  the  demands  of  Christian  perfection.  He  is  the  angel  of 
a  church  which  in  its  title  makes  the  claim  of  purging  the 


go  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

world  of  the  ecclesiastical  ordure  of  the  ages.  It  puts  forth 
the  claim  of  purity,  and  the  Master  does  not  dispute  it  so  far 
as  the  doctrines  it  holds  are  concerned ;  but  there  are  only  a 
relative  few  who  back  the  claim  with  a  disclosure  of  the  blood- 
washed  robes  they  wear :  name  to  live,  but  spiritually  dead ; 
having  the  form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the  power  thereof. 
Sardis  here  is  in  full  harmony  with  Paul  with  respect  to  the 
character  of  religious  profession  and  possession  in  the  last 
days :  claiming  much,  but  presenting  a  discrepancy  between  the 
claim  and  the  practical  Christian  life  that  painfully  negatives 
all  profession  and  holds  back  the  triumph  of  Christ  in  the 
world. 

The  shadow  of  Jezebel  may  in  a  measure  be  still  seen  here 
as  darkening  this  valley  of  Israel's  slumber.  Sin,  with  Rome, 
is  not  a  thing  to  be  repented  of,  forsaken,  forgiven,  and  cleansed 
away,  but  a  commodity  of  the  church  with  a  price  put  upon 
it,  to  be  regularly  absolved  while  living,  and  the  residuary 
debt,  great  or  small,  to  be  wiped  out  with  high-priced  masses 
when  dead.  Humiliating  indeed  is  the  spectacle  presented 
by  the  Protestant  church  when,  in  the  presence  of  its  clearly 
enunciated  doctrine  of  salvation  from  sin  through  the  all-suffi- 
cient merits  of  the  blood  of  Christ  and  the  pentecostal  effusion 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  practically  reasserts  this  principle  of  the 
Romish  faith  in  its  doctrine  with  respect  to  permissive  sinning. 
The  Christ  which  Rome  presents  is  either  as  a  child  in  the 
arms  of  his  mother  or  as  hanging  dead  upon  the  cross,  while 
the  transforming  power  of  the  living  Christ  is  practically  un- 
known. The  difference  between  the  two  methods  of  dealing  with 
sin  is  insignificant.  The  Romanist  sins  regularly,  and  expects 
to  as  long  as  he  lives.  He  goes  to  his  priest,  makes  his  regular 
confession,  pays  the  tax  upon  the  peculiar  kinds  of  sins  com- 
mitted, and  so  goes  forward  in  the  same  course  in  expectation 
of  the  stated  absolution.  The  idea  of  not  only  confessing  his 
sins,  but  of  forsaking  them  forever  and  of  being  cleansed  from 
the  power  and  dominion  of  sin,  is  something  entirely  beyond 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  91 

his  conception.  And  it  is  equally  true  that  vast  numbers  of 
Protestants  are  possessed  of  views  that  are  not  essentially  dif- 
ferent from  these  most  unscriptural  teachings  of  Rome.  The 
admonition  therefore  is,  "Remember  now  thou  hast  received 
and  heard ;  and  hold  fast,  and  repent.  If  therefore  thou  shalt 
not  watch,  /  will  come  on  thee  as  a  thief,  and  thou  shalt  not 
know  what  hour  I  zvill  come  upon  thee/'  This  statement,  in 
the  light  of  the  parallel  use  of  this  figure,  clearly  carries  the 
horoscope  of  this  church  up  to  the  hour  of  the  second  coming 
of  Christ. 

Both  Mark  and  Luke  attest  the  fact  that  the  reward  here 
promised  to  the  overcomers  in  Sardis  relates  also  to  that  of 
his  coming.  The  great  battle  of  the  church  is  for  purity;  and 
the  reward  held  before  the  eyes  of  the  victors  is  another  verifi- 
cation of  this  principle  of  equity  in  the  distribution  of  these 
gratulations  of  the  parousia: 

*'He  that  overcometh,  the  same  shall  be  clothed  in  white  rai- 
ment ;  and  I  will  not  blot  out  his  name  out  of  the  book  of  life, 
but  I  will  confess  his  name  before  my  Father,  and  before  his 
angels." 

The  Sardian  white  here  begins  to  displace  the  purple  and 
crimson  of  Thyatira — the  raiment  of  the  bride  instead  of  the 
loud  and  suggestive  paraphernalia  of  the  harlot.  The  structu- 
ral significance  of  the  figure  will  not  be  lost  upon  the  alert 
reader.  The  terminal  stated  voicing  of  the  Spirit  is  the  same 
here  as  in  Thyatira,  and  as  it  will  be  throughout  this  quadrate 
of  epistles. 

The  panorama,  like  that  of  Ephesus,  is  followed  by  that  of 
a  church  against  which  there  is  no  rebuke,  and  in  connection 
with  which  there  rises  the  most  inspiring  picture  presented  in 
the  entire  course  of  this  epistolary  series. 

The  Epistle  to  Philadelphia 
The  city  of  Philadelphia  was  one  of  the  smallest  of  the  seven 
cities  of  these  epistles.    It  was  ensconced,  like  a  nest,  in  a  nar- 


92  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

row  nook  between  the  Cogamus  River  and  the  Tmolus  Moun- 
tains, about  twenty-five  miles  in  a  southeasterly  direction  from 
Sardis.  In  the  mystic  content  of  this  epistle  we  have  the  most  en- 
trancing picture  presented  within  the  lines  of  this  introductory 
series.  Like  all  its  predecessors,  it  lifts  its  great  central  gov- 
erning thought  before  us  in  its  caption — the  Love  of  a  Brother. 
Historically  this  name  is  said  to  have  been  given  to  this  city 
in  commemoration  of  the  affection  that  existed  between  Attains 
II,  king  of  Pergamos,  and  his  brother.  This  hieroglyph  is  the 
only  one  of  the  seven  that  has  no  shadow  in  it.  Its  significance, 
as  it  fronts  a  mighty  background  of  prophecy,  tells  us  that  we 
have  gotten  beyond  the  light  of  the  morning  star — into  the 
crescent  dawn  of  a  new  and  glorious  era  upon  the  earth.  From 
the  viewpoint  of  the  opening  twentieth  century  every  type  of 
church  life  thus  far  presented  in  the  preceding  epistles  may 
truthfully  be  said  to  have  its  reflex  in  the  historic  past;  but 
Philadelphia  belongs  to  an  era  yet  to  come.  We  have  seen  the 
beautiful  ''first  love"  of  Christianity  vanish  in  the  distant  ages. 
We  have  seen  earth  deluged  with  the  martyr-blood  of  Smyrna. 
We  have  seen  the  ''stabbing  of  marriage"  in  the  rise  of  the 
monastic  abomination  of  Pergamos.  The  whole  world  has 
been  horrified  in  the  presence  of  the  drunken  orgies  of  the 
bloody  mother  of  harlots.  We  have  seen  the  shadow  of  spir- 
itual death  settle  down  upon  Sardis,  so  that  infidels  have 
rejoiced  that  Christianity  at  last  was  dead.  But  we  have  not 
as  yet  seen  glorious  Philadelphia  thralling  this  lost  world  with 
its  constraining  cords  of  love.  Existent  in  this  truly  Christian 
church  in  the  beginning,  it  has  steadily  loomed  before  the 
passing  ages,  under  the  Woes,  as  a  prophecy  of  the  future. 

Like  Smyrna,  this  church  receives  no  rebuke  from  the  Mas- 
ter, and  like  it,  in  the  midst  of  fiery  waves  of  tribulation  which 
deluge  the  whole  earth,  it  stands  like  an  impregnable  Gibraltar. 
The  mystic  cipher  which  is  here  thrown  upon  the  screen  is 
simply  ravishing  in  the  richness  of  its  drapery,  as  it  will  be 
whelming  in  its  prophetic  adjustment  with  the  vision  of  the 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  93 

triumphant  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  earth.  The  content  of 
the  epistle  presents  a  deep  mine  of  inexhaustible  treasure  in 
this  characterization  of  a  church  that  is  doctrinally  sound  and 
its  spiritual  life  above  reproach.  It  rises  before  us  here  in  cer- 
tification of  the  fact  that  the  redemptive  work  of  Christ  in  the 
earth  is  not  going  to  end  in  failure.  He  shall  see  of  the  travail 
of  his  soul,  and  be  satisfied. 

The  paragraphic  groupings  of  the  epistle  are  as  follows : 

THE  QUADRATE 

( 1 )  Christophanic  command  to  the  writer :  ''And  to  the  angel 
of  the  church  in  Philadelphia  write." 

(2)  The  annunciation:  "These  things  saith  he  that  is  holy, 
he  that  is  true,  he  that  hath  the  key  of  David,  he  that  openeth, 
and  no  man  shutteth ;  and  shutteth,  and  no  man  openeth." 

(3)  Characteristic  commendation:  'T  know  thy  works:  be- 
hold, I  have  set  before  thee  an  open  door,  and  no  man  can 
shut  it :  for  thou  hast  a  little  strength,  and  hast  kept  my  word, 
and  hast  not  denied  my  name.  Behold,  I  will  make  them  of  the 
synagogue  of  Satan,  which  say  they  are  Jews,  and  are  not, 
but  do  lie ;  behold,  I  will  make  them  to  come  and  worship  before 
thy  feet,  and  to  know  that  I  have  loved  thee." 

(4)  The  great  tribulation :  "Because  thou  hast  kept  the  word 
of  my  patience,  I  also  will  keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  tempta- 
tion, which  shall  come  upon  all  the  world,  to  try  them  that  dwell 
upon  the  earth." 

THE  TRIAD 

(5)  The  second  coming  of  Christ:  ''Behold,  I  come  quickly: 
hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown." 

(6)  The  reward  of  the  victors:  "Him  that  overcometh  will 
I  make  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  God,  and  he  shall  go  no 
more  out :  and  I  will  write  upon  him  the  name  of  my  God,  and 
the  name  of  the  city  of  my  God,  which  is  new  Jerusalem,  which 
Cometh  down  out  of  heaven  from  my  God:  and  I  will  write 
upon  him  my  new  name." 


94  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

(7)  The  final  voicing  of  the  Spirit:  ''He  that  hath  an  ear, 
let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches." 

The  annunciation  with  which  this  characterization  opens  is 
the  fullest  of  the  seven;  in  fact,  it  is  the  only  one  that  holds 
the  suggestion  of  a  sevenfold  division  of  its  particular  phases. 
The  fact,  mystically,  suggests  in  the  fullness  of  its  Christo- 
phanic  presentation  that  Christ  in  the  fullness  of  his  power  and 
glory  is  now  present  within  the  mystic  lines  of  this  Philadel- 
phian  church.  That  holiness  and  truth  which  we  behold  in  him 
finds  its  reflex  in  his  church,  which  now  advances  to  this  same 
exalted  plane  of  spiritual  life  as  set  forth  in  these  symbols.  We 
shall  meet  this  same  most  impressive  portraiture  in  the  larger 
series,  in  that  glorious  host  that  gathers  around  him  on  Mount 
Zion  and  in  those  mighty  ''armies  of  heaven"  which  follow  him 
to  the  conquest  of  the  great  field  of  the  mystic  Armageddon. 

While  our  limitations  will  hardly  admit  of  our  discussing 
in  detail  the  many  phases  presented  by  this  inspiring  epistle, 
yet  there  are  clearly  disclosures  here  which  must  for  the  time 
hold  our  closest  attention ;  as  they  will  be  found  correlate  with 
issues  which  will  develop  later  on.  With  respect  to  the  struc- 
tural form  of  the  groupings,  they  show  a  marked  coincidence 
with  those  of  Smyrna,  even  to  the  reproduction  of  some  of  its 
factors.  Smyrna  has  no  paragraph  of  reprehension,  but  a 
double  one  of  commendation,  though  not  a  complete  seven. 
Philadelphia  also  has  this  double  paragraph  of  commendation, 
each  member  of  which  has  six  factors  of  a  sub-seven;  while 
in  the  annunciation  we  have  a  full  sub-seven,  and  also  in  the 
paragraph  of  reward.  In  the  seven  of  the  annunciation  we 
have  one  particular  with  respect  to  which  the  characterization 
seems  to  depart  from  the  law  of  the  Christophanic  series, 
which  is 

The  Key  of  David 

One  of  the  postulates  upon  which  this  exposition  has  been 
grounded  is  that  in  each  of  these  paragraphs  of  annunciation 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  95 

some  feature  of  the  Christophanic  paraphernalia  is  specialized, 
and  presented  as  apropos  to  the  situation  to  be  developed. 
But  here  we  have  a  symbol  of  whose  presence  in  the  Christo- 
phanic paraphernalia  we  have  no  hint  until  declared  by  the 
lips  of  Christ  himself.  The  law  holds,  for  the  symbolic  key 
is  there,  though  not  disclosed  until  at  this  point.  The  keys 
of  Hades  and  Death  were  disclosed  as  the  terminal  factor  in 
the  paraphernalia.  They  rise  to  view  in  association  with  the  vic- 
tory which  the  risen  Christ  proclaims  as  he  stands  before  John 
in  his  resurrection  glory ;  but  of  this  mysterious  key,  associated 
with  these  gates  now  to  open  in  the  triumphant  progress  of  this 
angel  of  the  church  of  Philadelphia,  we  are  not  apprised  until 
we  see  it  swinging  wide  these  mystic  avenues  of  brotherhood. 

What  is  the  significance  of  the  introduction  of  this  Old 
Testament  symbol?  This:  the  Apocalypse  will  sustain  the 
eschatology  of  the  prophets.  That  mysterious  correlative  asso- 
ciation of  Israel  and  Judah  in  the  triumph  of  the  Messianic 
kingdom,  which  has  been  dismissed  by  modern  scholarship  as 
a  prophetic  hallucination,  suddenly  projects  itself  into  the 
mystic  cipher  of  this  epistle,  to  find  its  solution  in  the  avenues 
of  this  city  of  Brotherly  Love.  The  base  of  this  symbol  of  the 
key  of  David  is  found  in  Isa.  22.  22.  It  is  a  part  of  a  most 
impressive  ^lessianic  prophecy — proved  to  be  so  by  the  applica- 
tion here  made  of  it.  The  principle  has  been  fairly  established, 
with  respect  to  these  Old  Testament  figures,  that  their  intro- 
duction in  this  apocalyptic  symbolism  carries  with  it  the  whole 
perspective  of  correlate  association.  Thus  this  key  is  found 
to  relate  to  the  restoration  of  the  lost  throne  of  Israel.  Mes- 
sianic truth  is  here  thinly  veiled  under  the  significant  names  of 
Eliakim  (the  God  of  raising),  who  is  the  son  of  Hilkiah  (the 
portion  of  Jehovah).  Israel,  now  hastening  forward  in  its 
madness,  would  be  carried  away  in  a  mighty  captivity  and 
covered  from  sight.  It  would  be  tossed  like  a  ball  into  a  large 
country,  where  they  would  die ;  and  the  chariots  of  their  glory 
turned  to  the  shame  of  their  house  as  they  are  driven  from  sta- 


96  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

tion  and  state  and  pulled  down.  Now  the  prophet  passes 
onward  to  ''that  day" — the  day  of  the  future  restoration  of  the 
glorious  throne  to  Israel.    Let  the  passage  be  given  entire : 

''And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  I  will  call  my 
servant  Eliakim  the  son  of  Hilkiah :  and  I  will  clothe  him  with 
thy  robe,  and  strengthen  him  with  thy  girdle,  and  I  will  commit 
thy  government  into  his  hand;  and  he  shall  be  a  father  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  to  the  house  of  Judah.  And  the 
key  of  the  house  of  David  will  I  lay  upon  his  shoulder;  so  he 
shall  open,  and  none  shall  shut;  and  he  shall  shut,  and  none 
shall  open.  And  I  will  fasten  him  as  a  nail  in  a  sure  place ; 
and  he  shall  be  for  a  glorious  throne  to  his  Father  s  house." 

The  reader  will  note  here  the  distinction  between  the  "house 
of  Judah"  and  this  "house  of  David."  It  is  to  this  mystic 
David  that  prophecy  gives  this  eternal  throne  of  the  divine 
kingdom.  It  is  this  everlasting  throne  of  David  that  is  prom- 
ised to  the  child  of  Mary  by  the  angel  of  the  annunciation. 
Numerous  passages  may  be  cited  from  the  prophets  asserting 
the  fact  that,  in  the  great  day  of  the  establishment  of  this 
promised  Davidic  throne,  Judah  would  come  to  Israel  and  unite 
with  them  under  this  scepter,  which  would  be  eternal. 

When  the  promise  of  this  everlasting  throne  was  made  to 
David  its  constituency  was  in  like  manner  as  positively  deter- 
mined as  the  throne  was  promised.  It  would  be  that  Israel 
with  whom  the  covenants  were  made — the  Abrahamic  invio- 
lable, the  Sinaitic  contingent;  and  when  disannulled  to  be 
replaced  by  the  promised  everlasting  covenant  made  with  these 
same  houses  of  Israel  and  Judah  (see  Jer.  31.  31-34;  Heb.  8.  8). 
Inexplicable  as  it  may  seem  to  the  critic,  nevertheless  there  is 
no  room  for  quibbling  with  this  plain  statement  of  Holy  Writ. 
The  new  and  everlasting  covenant  would  be  made  with  one 
of  these  houses,  lost  to  sight  among  the  Gentile  nations,  and 
the  other  in  the  last  stages  of  a  degeneracy  that  would  immedi- 
ately result  in  having  this  divine  kingdom  taken  away  from  it 
and  itself  cast  ofif  as  Israel  had  been.    And  yet  there  was  to  be 


The  Book  of  the  CHRiSTorHANY  97 

no  miscarriage  of  the  sacred  pledge  of  Jehovah.  To  Christ 
would  be  given  the  throne  of  his  father  David,  and  he  would 
reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever,  and  of  his  kingdom 
there  would  be  no  end  (Luke  i.  32-33). 

The  critics  have  told  us,  with  condescending  pity  for  our 
ignorance  of  modern  methods  of  scriptural  exposition,  that  all 
the  vast  body  of  Old  Testament  prophecy  relative  to  this 
glorious  future  of  restored  Israel  is  simply  a  ''myth,"  or  "a 
divine  romance,"  which  somehow  got  mixed  in  this  inextricable 
confusion  with  the  whole  body  of  Messianic  prophecy.  With 
respect  to  its  fulfillment,  that  is  simply  a  wild  delusion,  as 
''the  time  in  which  such  fulfillment  was  possible  has  long 
since  passed. "^  And  yet,  when  we  stand  here  before  this  mystic 
veil  that  lifts  upon  the  coming  ages,  in  this  transcendent  vision 
of  Saint  John,  strange  to  relate,  he  too,  like  the  prophets,  con- 
founds us  with  the  ghost  of  resurrected  Israel.  Down  through 
avenues  of  blood  and  terror  he  leads  us,  on  through  scenes 
of  corruption,  apostasy,  and  death,  till  at  last  the  gates  of  a 
purified  church  are  thrown  wide  before  us;  and  it  is  done  by 
this  "key  of  the  house  of  David."  The  consensus  of  the 
prophets  with  respect  to  the  identity  of  the  Davidic  and  Mes- 
sianic thrones  is  simply  impregnable.  Attention  may  be 
directed  here  to  but  one  feature  of  this  subject.  Prophecy 
everywhere  recognizes  the  lapsed  and  universally  dispersed 
condition  of  Israel  in  the  presence  of  their  Great  Restorer. 
This  fact  suggests  the  presence  of  an  apocalyptic  hieroglyph 
in  this  name  of  Eliakim,  applied  to  Christ  by  the  prophet 
Isaiah.    The  one  who  carries  this  key  is  "the  God  of  raising." 

Hear  him  again,  in  a  passage  that  is  unquestionably  Mes- 
sianic : 

"And  he  said,  It  is  a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldest  be  my 
servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the 
preserved  of  Israel;  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the 
Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto  the  ends  of 

1  Kucnen, 


98  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  earth"  (Isa.  49.  6).  Hosea  gives  us  a  parallel:  "After  two 
days  he  will  revive  us:  in  the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up, 
and  we  shall  live  in  his  sight"  (6.  2). 

Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  valley  of  dry  bones,  as  has  been  previ- 
ously stated,  relates  to  a  future  resurrection  of  ''the  whole  house 
of  Israel,"  both  of  its  grand  divisions  being  included.  These 
two  houses,  under  the  scepters  of  Joseph  and  Judah,  both  fallen 
at  the  time  of  the  vision,  would  be  raised  out  of  this  vale 
of  death  to  become  one  nation  under  the  scepter  of  David, 
who  would  be  their  prince  and  who  would  reign  over  them 
forever.  Again,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  go  on  record  as  holding 
that  such  a  universal  as  is  here  projected  in  Ezekiel,  with 
respect  to  this  eternal  throne  of  David,  must,  if  admitted,  be 
found  to  be  coincident  with  this  scene  that  is  here  opened  with 
this  Davidic  key  in  the  hands  of  this  sublime  figure  of  the 
Christophany.  Daniel,  in  the  same  manner  as  Ezekiel,  when 
approaching  this  region  of  prophetic  finalities  becomes 
strangely  perplexing  with  respect  to  a  great,  resurrection  of 
''many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth."  This  resur- 
rection occurs  in  the  presence  of  the  great  Prince  who  stands 
for  "the  children  of  thy  people."  His  name  here  is  called 
"Michael"  (one  like  God),  showing  the  same  occult  reference 
as  in  the  name  Eliakim. 

With  these  facts  looking  out  upon  us  from  this  background 
of  prophecy  we  pass  along  these  beautiful  avenues  of  Phila- 
delphia to  seek  the  mystic  significance  in  the  name.  We  are 
not  disappointed.  The  symbols  now  begin  to  speak  with  power.' 
We  see  one  of  these  lost  brothers,  who,  when  the  church  was 
poor  and  dying  for  its  faith,  was  cast  ofif  by  God  as  a  blas- 
phemer, now  coming  and  worshiping  at  the  feet  of  this  Chris- 
tian angel  of  Philadelphia  who  wears  a  crown — the  only  one 
of  the  seven  v/ho  does.  The  king  and  his  brother  are  before 
us — if  our  ear  is  delicate  enough  to  hear  what  the  Spirit  is 
here  voicing  in  this  symbolism  of  Philadelphia.  The  fact  of 
the  coming  of  these  blaspheming  Jews  to  worship  at  the  feet 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  99 

of  this   Christian   angel   solves   the   meaning   of   the   key   of 
David,  as  it  also  illumines  the  parable  of  the  prodigal  son. 

If  the  element  of  mysticism  be  at  all  admitted  within  the 
lines  of  these  epistles,  then  we  have  in  this  reference  to  the 
Jews  a  most  important  point  of  characterization.  Cast  off  and 
disowned  of  Christ,  in  the  presence  of  this  martyr  church  of 
Smyrna,  they  drop  out  of  sight  as  a  visible  factor  of  this 
symbolism,  which  thenceforward  presents  occultly  the  reflex 
of  figures  which  suggest  association  with  Israel.  And  now, 
at  this  structural  point  where  the  darkness  of  the  long  night 
of  Pergamos,  Thyatira,  and  Sardis  is  breaking  and  where  the 
Messianic  kingdom  rises  to  supremacy  in  the  earth,  if  at  any 
point  within  this  epistolary  series,  we  have  this  picture  of  the 
once  blaspheming  Jew  as  purged  of  his  guilt  and  worshiping 
at  the  feet  of  this  angel,  the  Christ  whom  once  he  crucified. 
The  presence  of  t4ie  crown  upon  the  head  of  this  angel,  and 
not  upon  that  of  the  Jew,  is  explained  by  a  statement  made  by 
Christ  to  the  Jews  with  respect  to  their  rejection  and  loss  of 
the  kingdom.  "Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  that  the  kingdom 
of  God  shall  be  taken  from  you  and  given  to  a  nation  bring- 
ing forth  the  fruits  thereof/'  The  prophets  tell  us  over  and 
over  that  this  nation  is  not  the  Gentiles,  but  Israel.  The 
kingdom  which  Christ  came  to  set  up  in  the  earth,  during  the 
course  of  these  nineteen  hundred  years,  has  not  been  with  the 
Jew ;  for  he  has  rejected  it.  It  has  not  been  with  the  great 
apostasy  that  courses  through  this  age  drunk  with  the  blood 
of  its  martyrs.  The  later  introductions  upon  the  panoramic 
screen  will  leave  no  room  for  doubt  that  it  is  there,  as  here, 
Israel.  Zechariah  in  a  most  impressive  prophecy  portrays  the 
casting  off  of  both  these  houses  of  Israel  and  Judah,  and  locates 
the  point  at  which  the  brotherhood  would  be  broken  between 
them  as  that  of  the  betrayal  of  Christ ;  since  which  hour  the 
Jew  has  acknowledged  brotherhood  with  no  race  or  people  on 
the  earth  (see  Zech.  11  ;  also  Hos.  i.  10,  11  ;  3.  4,  5;  Jer.  31. 
27-37)- 


loo  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

In  the  picture  which  Ezekiel  draws  of  the  great  final  struggle 
in  the  latter  days  with  the  world-wide  combination  under  the 
leadership  of  Gog  he  shows  the  movement  to  be  made  against 
unified  Israel.  Joel  tersely  describes  the  same  universal  coali- 
tion deployed  along  the  same  lines.  They  will  rise  to  view 
in  the  Apocalypse  itself,  in  the  Trilogy,  in  a  manner  that  fully 
certifies  their  coincidence. 

The  Great  Tribulation 

We  have  found  the  beginnings  of  this  factor  in  Smyrna.  It 
is  clearly  marked  in  Thyatira.  Here  it  again  rises  to  view, 
but  Philadelphia  is  kept  from  it.  If  we  may  understand  this 
statement  as  implying  that  Philadelphia  is  actually  preserved 
from  this  awful  visitation  that  sweeps  over  the  whole  world, 
then  this  fact  will  also  be  found  to  have  its  prophetic  parallels. 
Israel  was  thus  to  be  kept,  as  shut  within  their  chambers,  till 
the  passing  of  this  ordeal  that  was  to  try  the  whole  earth  (see 
Isa.  26.  19-21).  The  triad,  as  we  have  noted  in  the  divisions 
of  the  groupings,  opens  with  the  announcement  of  the  coming 
of  Christ.  It  is,  ''Behold,  I  come  quickly :  hold  that  fast  which 
thou  hast,  that  no  man  take  thy  crown."  Attention  is  called 
again  to  the  suggestion  here  of  progressive  movement.  In 
Sardis  it  was,  "Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief,"  and  in  Laodicea  it 
will  be,  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock."  The  move- 
ment relates  to  the  progress  of  development  with  respect  to 
the  theme.  The  fact  that  even  the  Thyatiran  was  exhorted, 
just  as  the  Philadelphian  is,  to  "hold  fast  till  I  come"  is  suffi- 
cient proof  of  the  fact  that  it  will  not  be  final,  and  lukewarm 
Laodicea,  that  will  be  arrested  by  the  judgment  knock  on  the 
door,  but  that  all  the  churches,  combined  in  the  one  universal 
church,  will  be  startled  by  his  appearing. 

The  reward  that  is  held  before  the  eyes  of  this  royal  church 
far  exceeds  in  richness  anything  previously  disclosed  within  the 
field  of  this  divine  beneficence.  It  will  be  noted  that  there  is 
an  ascending  scale  of  bestowment  as  the  panorama  proceeds. 


TiiE  Book  of  the  CHRisxorHANY  loi 

Ephcsus  has  but  one,  while  in  Philadelphia  we  have  a  full  seven. 
We  may  have  here  an  order  of  sequence  which  will  be  more 
easily  understood  after  we  have  followed  the  unfolding  scroll 
through  the  disclosures  of  the  larger  series.  He  will  be  made 
a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  God.  He  will  go  no  more  out.  We 
have  here  the  thought  of  the  everlasting  kingdom.  There  will 
be  written  upon  him  the  name  of  God.  This  is  done  with 
respect  to  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  in  the  counterpart  of  the 
seals.  Next  the  name  of  the  city  of  God,  which  is  further 
described  as  the  new  Jerusalem,  which  suggests  the  sequent 
disclosure  of  the  figure.  Then  as  descending  from  heaven. 
Finally  the  new  name  of  Christ. 

All  these  factors  will  reappear  in  the  characterizations  in  the 
celestial  sphere,  and  with  an  interesting  coincidence  in  the 
order  of  their  introduction.  The  name  of  God  is  written  first 
and  the  name  of  Christ  last,  while,  instead  of  the  name  of  the 
city  being  written  upon  the  overcomer,  we  behold  the  names  of 
Israel  and  the  apostles  written  in  the  city  itself.  The  temple 
symbol  which  is  introduced  in  this  epistle,  and  near  the  end 
of  the  series,  takes  the  same  position  in  the  seals.  It  is  there 
said  of  those  who  come  up  through  the  "great  tribulation"  that 
they  shall  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his  temple.  The  fact 
has  been  noted  that  crowns  are  associated  only  with  these  two 
churches  against  which  there  is  no  rebuke.  This  royalistic 
glory  is  already  assured  if  he  shall  but  hold  fast  till  Christ 
shall  come.  The  door  Christ  opens  before  him  will  not  be 
closed  by  all  the  infernal  powers,  and  when  closed  by  him  will 
never  more  be  opened. 

The  promise  made  to  this  angel  of  Philadelphia,  that  he 
should  be  kept  from  the  hour  of  the  "great  tribulation"  which 
should  try  the  whole  world,  and  as  thus  not  directly  involved 
within  it  as  the  others  were,  is,  as  we  have  seen,  a  part  of 
the  great  perspective  of  Old  Testament  prophecy.  Isaiah  gives 
it  thus : 

"Thy  dead  shall  live ;  my  dead  bodies  shall  arise.     Awake 


I02  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  the  dust:  for  thy  dew  is  as  the  dew 
of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast  forth  the  dead.  Come,  my 
people,  enter  thou  into  thy  chambers,  and  shut  thy  doors  about 
thee:  hide  thyself  for  a  little  moment,  until  the  indignation 
be  overpast.  For,  behold,  the  Lord  cometh  forth  out  of  his 
place  to  punish  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  for  their  iniquity : 
the  earth  shall  disclose  her  blood,  and  shall  no  more  cover  her 
slain"   (Isa.  26.  19-21). 

The  historicist  makes  much  of  the  fact  that  Philadelphia 
alone  was  preserved  when  all  the  rest  of  the  seven  were  swept 
down  by  the  storm  which  later  burst  upon  them.  The  eminent 
infidel  historian  pays  this  eloquent  tribute  to  the  faithfulness 
of  this  church  of  Philadelphia: 

"The  bravery  of  its  inhabitants  whose  home  was  over  the 
sleeping  earthquakes  has  ever  signalized  itself  in  the  defense 
of  its  patrimony.  In  the  loss  of  Ephesus  the  Christians  deplored 
the  fall  of  the  first  angel,  the  extinction  of  the  first  candlestick 
of  Revelation.  The  desolation  is  complete,  and  the  temple  of 
Diana  or  the  church  of  Mary  will  equally  elude  the  search  of 
the  curious  traveler.  The  circus  and  the  three  stately  theaters 
of  Laodicea  are  now  peopled  with  wolves  and  foxes.  Sardis 
is  reduced  to  a  miserable  village ;  the  God  of  Mohammed, 
without  a  rival  or  a  Son,  is  invoked  in  the  mosques  of  Thyatira 
and  Pergamos,  and  the  populousness  of  Smyrna  is  supported 
by  the  foreign  trade  of  the  Franks  and  Armenians.  Philadel- 
phia alone  has  been  saved  by  prophecy  or  courage.  At  a 
distance  from  the  sea,  forgotten  by  the  emperors,  encompassed 
on  all  sides  by  the  Turks,  her  valiant  citizens  defended  their 
religion  and  freedom  above  fourscore  years,  and  at  length 
capitulated  with  the  proudest  of  the  Ottomans.  Among  the 
Greek  colonies  and  churches  of  Asia  Philadelphia  is  still  erect, 
a  column  in  a  scene  of  ruins,  a  pleasing  example  that  the  path 
of  honor  and  safety  may  sometimes  be  the  same"  (Gibbon, 
Decline  and  Fall). 


The  Book  of  the  Christopiiany  103 

The  Epistle  to  Laodicea 

About  sixty  miles  southeast  of  Philadelphia  lay  the  city  of 
Laodicea,  the  rich  and  powerful  capital  of  Phrygia.  Here  also 
a  Christian  church  had  been  planted,  which  became  one  of 
the  great  centers  of  influence  in  the  early  Christian  age. 

Its  chief  interest  to  us  lies  in  the  fact  of  its  being  here 
chosen  as  the  base  of  the  final  mystic  characterization  of  this 
apocalyptic  epistolary  series.  The  picture  presented  is  that 
of  a  church  under  the  enervating  influence  of  power  and 
wealth.  We  are  not,  upon  the  principles  established  in  this 
study,  to  conceive  of  Laodicea  as  the  universal  sequence  of 
Philadelphia,  though  as  lying  beyond  it  in  these  serial  lines 
it  becomes  structurally  declarative  of  the  fact  of  spiritual 
declension  from  the  high  plane  of  Philadelphian  achievement. 
It  is  not  subsequent  to,  but  associate  with,  Philadelphia,  the 
same  in  the  end  as  in  the  beginning.  It  presents  a  phase  of 
church  life  of  self-satisfaction  in  the  presence  of  this  vision 
of  the  Christophany.  It  will  so  rank  up  as  a  component  part 
of  the  seven  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ.  All  the 
phases  here  characterized  are  the  result  of  insidious  forces 
then  at  work  and  which  will  continue  onward  to  the  end. 
The  integrity  of  the  seven  is  under  the  same  law  that  domi- 
nates the  book  with  respect  to  this  mystic  numeral.  The  seven 
Spirits  are  but  a  distributive  form  which  is  used  in  the  char- 
acterization of  the  work  and  oflice  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  So 
are  these  seven  churches  one.  While  the  phase  of  church  life 
here  given  is  structurally  sequent  to  that  of  Philadelphia,  and 
may  largely  arise  out  of  conditions  which  are  the  resultants 
of  its  triumph,  yet  Philadelphia  remains  still  as  within  the 
field,  and  is  still  without  rebuke,  if  she  heeds  the  Master's 
injunction  to  hold  fast  till  the  hour,  now  near,  of  his  coming. 

Thus  the  age  of  martyrdom  may  not  have  fully  passed  in 
the  earth  for  Smyrna,  nor  the  struggle  of  Thyatira,  as  in  the 
thrall  of  the  great  harlot,  fully  ended,  though  she  may  have 


I04  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

been  largely  stripped  of  her  gaudy  robings  and  her  pace  accel- 
erated toward  the  eternal  burnings  while  Philadelphia  continues 
to  shine  and  Laodicea  to  backslide. 

In  Laodicea  there  is  a  cloudless  sky.  No  one  there  is 
called  upon  to  die  for  the  faith.  Hers  is  not  a  struggle  for 
doctrinal  purity,  for  her  orthodoxy  is  unquestioned  and  her 
deeds  unreprobated.  She  is  not  a  dead  church,  like  Sardis, 
nor  is  there  discoverable  here  any  traces  of  the  scarlet.  She 
is  simply  a  rich  and  powerful  organization,  self-centered  and 
self-satisfied,  whose  spiritual  life  has  been  emasculated  by  its 
wealth.  It  is  in  need  of  nothing;  not  of  evangelistic  aggres- 
siveness, for  its  pews  are  all  taken.  There  is  no  need  in 
Laodicea  for  the  continuance  of  the  multiple  agencies  by 
means  of  which  in  the  course  of  the  unenlightened  ages  of 
the  past  the  church  wrung  a  pitiful  support  for  her  institu- 
tions from  the  reluctant  hand  of  unappreciative  niggardliness. 
Wealth  no  longer  withholds  from  the  church,  but  is  so  lavish 
in  its  gifts  that  the  treasury  is  always  overflowing,  so  that 
it  never  knows  the  distress  of  a  great  financial  burden.  It  is 
rich,  and  increased  in  goods,  and  has  need  of  nothing.  The 
day  has  come  in  the  which,  as  the  prophets  saw,  the  riches  of 
the  Gentiles  have  been  showered  upon  Zion,  and  the  kings 
and  queens  have  become  its  nursing  fathers  and  mothers.  As 
that  day  is  by  them  associated  with  the  restoration  and  regath- 
ering  of  Israel  out  of  the  nations  whence  they  have  been  scat- 
tered it  very  naturally  adjusts  itself  to  this  terminal  characteri- 
zation of  the  epistles,  thus  giving  corroborative  proof  of  the 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  picture  here  painted  is  in  full 
harmony  with  the  eschatology  of  the  prophets. 

Wealth  created  its  Laodicea  in  the  presence  of  the  seer  of 
Patmos ;  it  also  does  when  the  listening  ear  may  hear  the  foot- 
fall of  the  returning  Lord.  The  facts  here  thrown  into  cipher 
fully  sustain  all  that  Jesus  said  or  that  the  New  Testament 
writers  reiterated  concerning  the  perils  of  wealth.  It  is  the 
poverty-stricken   church,   that   sheds   its   life's   blood    for   its 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  105 

faith,  that  is  the  really  rich  church.  It  is  the  angel  that  does 
not  let  go  when  the  fires  of  judgment  are  let  loose  upon  the 
earth  that  is  assured  of  the  crown.  As  coincident  with  this 
Laodicean  situation,  we  must  understand  that  correlate  proph- 
ecy has  all  been  fulfilled.  The  truths  of  the  gospel  of  Christ 
have  triumphed  over  the  errors  of  heathenism.  Israel  has 
been  restored  to  divine  favor,  and  are  in  number  as  the  sands 
of  the  seashore.  The  Jews  have  been  converted  to  Christ,  as 
appears  in  the  preceding  characterization,  and  their  vast  wealth 
has  augmented  the  resources  of  Christianity.  The  knowledge 
of  the  Lord  now  covers  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  great 
deep.  The  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  has  been  established 
in  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  all  nations  are  flowing  unto  it. 
The  swords  have  been  beaten  into  plowshares  and  the  spears 
into  pruning  hooks.  The  cannon  have  been  melted  up,  and 
the  great  navies  transformed  into  the  argosies  of  commerce. 
The  glory  of  the  Lord  has  been  set  among  the  Gentiles.  Faith 
has  been  kept  with  Abraham,  in  the  gift  to  him  of  the  heir- 
ship of  the  world.  The  Gentiles  have  been  so  impressed  with 
the  now  clearly  discerned  hand  of  God  in  the  strange  recovery 
of  this  once  downtrodden  people  that  their  idols  are  thrown  to 
the  moles  and  the  bats.  The  great  harlot  is  being  slowly  con- 
sumed by  the  brightness  of  his  coming.  It  is  sad  to  reflect 
that  in  the  midst  of  all  this  glory  there  should  be  thrown  into 
characterization  such  a  picture  as  Laodicea.  It  is  there  simply 
because  it  is  truth. 

The  Laodicean  Paragraphic  Groupings 

THE  quadrate 

(i)  The  Christophanic  command  to  the  writer:  "And  unto 
the  angel  of  the  church  of  the  Laodiceans  write." 

(2)  The  annunciation':  "These  things  saith  the  Amen,  the 
Faithful  and  True  Witness,  the  beginning  of  the  creation  of 
God." 

(3)  Characteristic  rebuke:  "I  know  thy  works,  that  thou  art 


io6  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

neither  cold  nor  hot:  I  would  that  thou  wert  cold  or  hot. 
So  then  because  thou  art  lukewarm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot, 
I  will  spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth ;  because  thou  sayest,  I 
am  rich,  and  increased  in  goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing; 
and  knowest  not  that  thou  art  wretched,  and  miserable,  and 
poor,  and  blind,  and  naked." 

(4)  Characteristic  counsel :  ''I  counsel  thee  to  buy  of  me 
gold  tried  in  the  fire,  that  thou  mayest  be  rich;  and  white 
raiment,  that  thou  mayest  be  clothed,  and  that  the  shame  of 
thy  nakedness  do  not  appear;  and  anoint  thine  eyes  with  eye- 
salve,  that  thou  mayest  see.  As  many  as  I  love  I  rebuke  and 
chasten ;  be  zealous  therefore,  and  repent." 

THE  TRIAD 

(5)  The  advent  warning:  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door 
and  knock:  if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door, 
I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me." 

(6)  The  reward  of  the  victors:  "To  him  that  overcometh 
will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  over- 
came, and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne." 

(7)  Final  voicing  of  the  Spirit:  "He  that  hath  an  ear,  let 
him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches." 

Were  this  picture  of  decadence  in  Laodicea  different  from 
what  it  is,  it  would  be  out  of  harmony  with  six  thousand  years 
of  human  history.  Every  great  revival  that  has  ever  swept 
down  upon  the  church  of  God  has  thus  far  been  followed 
by  reaction,  lethargy,  and  spiritual  dearth.  Every  approxima- 
tion toward  Philadelphia  has  been  succeeded  by  its  relative 
Laodicea. 

While  we  would  fain  have  it  otherwise,  yet  it  should  not  be 
accounted  strange  that  such  a  state  of  emasculated  inanition 
should  develop  in  the  very  presence  of  this  ideal  of  Christian 
loveliness  held  before  it  in  these  purified  avenues  of  Philadel- 
phia.    Such  a  beatific  vision  has  been  within  sight  of  every 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  107 

church  of  the  Laodiceans  ever  since  Christian  Hves,  transfig- 
ured, began  to  shine  in  this  world's  darkness  and  Christian 
blood  to  stain  the  dust  of  the  arena.  The  picture  that  is 
drawn  by  our  Lord  throughout  all  his  discourses  with  respect 
to  the  end  of  the  gospel  age  never  varies  from  what  is  here 
mystically  held  before  us  in  these  epistles.  He  clearly  affirms 
the  fact  that  the  present  order  of  probation  will  continue  up 
to  the  final  hour  of  his  coming.  Men  will  be  eating  and  drink- 
ing, marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  as  they  were  up  to  the 
day  that  Noah  entered  into  the  ark  and  the  door  was  shut. 
As  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in 
marriage,  we  are  limited  by  this  statement  of  Christ  to  the 
present  order,  and  not  like  that  of  the  inharmonious  one  of 
the  supposed  first  resurrection.  Saint  Peter,  in  his  epistles,  is 
concurrent  with  Christ.  He  warns  that  the  long  delay  of 
the  second  coming  will  strain  the  faith  of  the  church ;  for  in 
the  last  days  scofifers  will  arise,  saying,  "Where  is  the  promise 
of  his  coming?  For  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep  all  things 
continue  as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation" 
— plain  proof  that  there  has  been  no  radical  change  of  the  pres- 
ent order  of  things  up  to  the  hour  of  the  advent.  Saint  Paul 
presents  the  same  ominous  outlook  with  respect  to  the  last  days. 
He  thus  writes  to  Timothy: 

"This  know  also,  that  in  the  last  days  perilous  times  shall 
come.  For  men  shall  be  lovers  of  their  own  selves,  covetous, 
boasters,  proud,  blasphemers,  disobedient  to  parents,  unthank- 
ful, unholy,  without  natural  affection,  truce-breakers,  false 
accusers,  incontinent,  fierce,  despisers  of  those  that  are  good, 
traitors,  heady,  high-minded,  lovers  of  pleasures  more  than 
lovers  of  God,  having  a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the 
power  thereof:  from  such  turn  away"  (2  Tim.  3.  1-5). 

It  is  from  such  that  we  may  conceive  Christ  himself  as 
turning  away  in  the  instance  before  us,  saying  to  the  spiritually 
blinded  formalists  of  Laodicea,  "I  will  spew  thee  out  of  my 
mouth." 


io8  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Saint  Paul,  in  giving  this  fearful  category  of  degeneracy 
of  the  last  days,  must  not  be  understood  as  locating  it  all  as 
within  the  church;  though  he  clearly  shows  that  love  of 
pleasure  more  than  love  of  God  dominates  the  church,  while 
it  clings  to  the  form  of  godliness,  but  denies  its  power.  These 
calm  statements  of  New  Testament  prophecy  could  hardly  be 
more  positive  than  they  are  with  respect  to  this  one  point: 
this  world  will  not  be  universally  converted  in  these  ''last 
days,"  and  eagerly  looking  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  The 
existence  of  these  twenty  classes  of  society  bespeaks  the  spir- 
itual inertness  of  the  church,  which  is  thralled  by  sensuality 
and  chilled  by  formalism.  It  is  such  scriptures  as  these  that 
simply  whelm  us  with  proof  of  the  fact  that,  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  New  Testament,  the  works  of  the  devil  will  not 
be  destroyed  in  the  earth  previous  to  that  hour  when  Christ 
''shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  his  mighty  angels,  in 
Naming  fire  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God,  and 
that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  who  shall 
be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power"  (2  Thess. 
I.  7-9). 

The  reader  has  already  been  apprised  of  the  most  significant 
hieroglyph  in  the  name  Laodicea.  It  is  composed  of  two 
words,  laos  and  dikes — "judgment  of  the  people."  Thus  in  the 
caption  of  the  epistle  there  is  lifted  to  view  the  same  thought 
that  will  be  repeated  in  the  "knock"  that  will  be  heard  at  the 
door.  Both  these  factors  tell  us  that  we  have  now  arrived  at 
the  boundaries  of  time  and  at  the  threshold  of  the  eternal  king- 
dom. The  annunciation  will  present  the  same  occult  truth. 
In  Ephesus  it  begins  with  the  initials  of  the  Christophany. 
Here  it  ends  with  its  characteristic  Amen.  Beyond  this  utter- 
ance in  the  Christophany,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is  yet  another 
factor,  but  it  adds  to  its  impressiveness :  "And  I  have  the  keys 
of  Hades  and  death."  These  keys  in  this  sense,  as  conceptu- 
ally following  this  Christophanic  Amen,  are  structurally  corre- 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  109 

late  with  the  terminal  scenes  of  the  advent  and  general  judg- 
ment. Both  Hades  and  death  unveil  their  mysteries  as  this 
Amen  punctuates  the  course  of  time.  The  reader  would  do 
well  to  carefully  consider  the  position  it  occupies  in  the  Expo- 
nential Groupings  at  the  head  of  these  Epistles.  In  the  first 
place  it  punctuates  the  paragraph  which  relates  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  in  the  second  that  of 
his  coming.  In  the  third — the  Christophany,  to  which  allusion 
is  here  specifically  made — it  punctuates  significantly  that 
eternal  life  possessed  by  Christ  which  will  be  shared  by  those 
whom  he  comes  to  reward  for  their  faithfulness  to  him. 

While  the  popular  conception  of  Christ,  as  standing  at  the 
door  of  the  heart  and  knocking  for  admittance,  need  not  be 
disturbed,  yet  there  is  evidently  a  profounder  significance  that 
elevates  this  paragraph  into  the  terminal  judgment  warning 
of  this  epistolary  series. 

This  counsel  that  is  here  given  to  Laodicea  must  not  be 
understood  as  an  effort  upon  the  part  of  Christ  to  shrive  this 
moribund  church  amid  the  gathering  shadows  of  the  end  of 
time,  for  its  type  is  continuous  throughout  the  ages.  Christ 
died  for  Laodicea  and  loves  her  with  an  infinite  love,  and  be- 
cause he  loves  he  rebukes.  Utterly  blinded  as  to  her  true  con- 
dition, self-satisfied,  and  in  need  of  nothing,  she  is  held  up 
by  the  Master  as  the  veriest  pauper  of  the  seven.  Even  in  dead 
Sardis  there  were  some  that  were  worthy  to  walk  with  Christ 
in  white,  but  Laodicea  is  naked,  and  so  blind  that  she  does  not 
perceive  it.  She  has  three  imperative  needs,  "pure  gold  tried 
in  the  fire,"  and  "white  raiment,"  and  "eye-salve."  All  these 
may  be  hers  if  she  will  but  heed  the  Master's  voice,  and  repent. 

The  reward  that  is  held  before  the  eyes  of  the  Laodicean 
overcomer  is  simply  whelming  in  its  significance.  "To  him 
that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne, 
even  as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in 
his  throne."  Theirs  is  a  royal  battle  against  a  foe  just  as 
deadly  as  menaced  any  of  the  rest,  and  their  victory  is  worthy 


no  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

of  its  promised  reward.  The  reward  that  Christ  promised  to 
his  faithful  followers,  to  be  given  "when  the  Son  of  man 
shall  come  in  his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,"  and 
"sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory,"  was  a  "kingdom  prepared 
for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world."  The  throne  of  his 
glory  here  rises  to  view,  and  the  overcomers  share  it  with  him 
as  he  shares  with  the  glory  of  the  Throne  Eternal. 

Laodicea,  when  brought  into  comparison  with  her  six  sister 
churches,  may  suffer  to  some  extent  from  her  topographical 
position.  Conceived  of  as  the  lone  representative  of  the  final- 
ities of  the  Christian  age,  the  picture  she  presents  cannot  but 
be  pessimistic  in  the  extreme.  It  is  well  known  that  this  infer- 
ence very  largely  prevails  as  the  heart-core  of  the  chiliastic 
interpretation.  That  such  an  inference  is  incorrectly  drawn 
becomes  evident  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  body  of  Old 
Testament  prophecy,  which  relates  to  the  character  of  the 
final  triumph  in  the  earth  of  the  Messianic  kingdom ;  and,  fur- 
ther, in  the  correlate  features  of  this  symbolism,  where  we  shall 
see  the  Lamb  engaging  all  these  adverse  powers — beast,  false 
prophet,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth — and  leaving  nothing  of 
them  but  a  feast  for  the  birds  on  the  great  battlefield.  In  the 
light  of  this  principle,  of  the  mystic  unity  of  this  numeric 
seven,  we  must  conceive  of  Laodicea  as  only  the  reciprocal  of 
the  seven  and  not  its  entirety.  Laodicea  may  indeed  be  classed 
as  degenerate,  and  spewed  out,  but  not  all  of  Laodicea.  Some 
out  of  this  rich  church  will  be  welcomed  by  Christ  to  a  seat 
in  his  throne.  Severe  indeed  is  the  penalty  that  follows  her 
poverty-stricken  life,  but  we  must  remember  that  it  is  no 
more  severe  than  what  is  visted  upon  the  church  that  lost 
its  first  love,  or  Pergamos,  or  Thyatira,  whom  the  sword  would 
transfix,  whose  children  would  be  killed  with  death,  or,  again, 
of  Sardis,  whose  name  to  live  would  be  blotted  out  of  the  book 
of  life.  As  it  has  been  shown,  the  whole  seven  are  still  in  the 
field  and  face  the  parousia  of  their  Lord.  Philadelphia  may  be 
shining  never  more  brilliantly  than  wdien  the  footfall  of  the 


The  Book  of  the  Christophany  hi 

Master  sounds  along  her  fraternal  streets.  It  is  the  spurious 
in  each  case  that  is  rejected,  while  the  genuine  is  crowned, 
robed,  and  throned  with  Christ. 

The  figure  of  the  Christophany  has  now  completed  the  first 
great  seven  of  the  apocalyptic  panorama  and  the  enunciations 
of  its  particular  book.  But  it  has  not  solved  the  mystery  whose 
wonderful  lines  it  began  to  unfold.  It  was  introduced  by 
three  exponential  voicings ;  it  is  itself  simply  a  larger  exponent 
of  what  is  yet  to  come.  Transcendent  as  the  Christophany  is, 
and  the  content  of  its  book,  yet  in  it  we  only  stand  within  the 
outer  court  of  this  mighty  Apocalypse.  Had  we  only  this  first 
book  what  a  treasure  it  would  be !  How  its  supramundane 
voicings  would  whelm  and  thrill  us,  and  the  mysterious  flash- 
ings of  its  celestial  fire  quicken  our  dull  vision !  But  it  is  only 
the  foreword  of  the  Spirit,  the  propylaeum  of  the  glorious 
temple  that  lies  beyond. 

With  respect  to  its  central  figure,  how  strong,  clear,  and 
beautiful  is  the  portraiture  of  the  transcendent  appearance  of 
its  Christ !  He  is  the  same  here  as  in  the  gospels,  and  the 
same  divine  majesty  clothes  his  every  utterance.  He  is  always 
true  to  himself,  as  he  is  to  the  great  redemptive  work  that 
brought  him  to  earth.  As  he  stands  before  us  in  this  body  of 
mysticism  he  never  wavers.  He  speaks  wath  the  same  solem- 
nity, the  same  conscious  reserve  of  power,  as  characterized 
his  address  to  the  throngs  of  the  temple  or  the  multitudes  that 
gathered  about  him  upon  the  hillsides  of  Galilee.  Many  and 
beautiful,  were  the  parables  which  fell  from  his  lips  with  re- 
spect to  the  course  of  his  kingdom  in  the  earth  and  of  his 
coming  again ;  but  none  were  ever  freighted  with  truths  more 
transcendent  or  more  whelming  than  these  which  here  flash 
through  the  mystic  veilings  of  this  mighty  Apocalypse. 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  THEOPHANY 

"  Lo,  these  are  parts  of  his  ways:  but  how  little  a  portion  is  heard  of 
him?  but  the  thunder  of  his  power  who  can  understand?  " — Job  26.  14. 

Introductory 

It  is  said  that  the  magnificence  of  the  gateway  that  guards 
the  approach  to  the  Taj  Mahal  of  India  is  so  whelming  that 
it  is  not  infrequently  mistaken  by  the  visitor  for  the  Taj  itself. 
His  amazement  is  simply  beyond  expression  when  he  finds 
that  what  has  so  powerfully  impressed  him  is  only  an  archi- 
tectural warning  to  prepare  himself  for  what  will  greet  his 
vision  when  he  shall  have  passed  its  portals.  Once  within, 
the  Taj  rises  before  him  like  a  massive  jewel  let  down  from  the 
skies:  a  creation  whose  beauty,  it  is  said,  has  never  been 
equaled  on  earth ;  the  noble  tribute  which  a  semiheathen  paid 
at  the  shrine  of  wedded  love.  Thus  are  the  seven  epistles  but 
the  propylseum  of  the  mighty  apocalyptic  Taj  which  now  rises 
before  us. 

Saint  Paul,  in  Romans,  says:  "The  invisible  things  of  him 
from  the  creation  of  the  world  are  clearly  seen,  being  under- 
stood by  the  things  that  are  made,  even  his  eternal  power  and 
Godhead." 

This  fact  finds  exemplification  in  the  body  of  symbolism  now 
before  us.  It  approaches  the  spiritual  through  the  media  of 
the  material,  or  natural.  The  Christophany  transpires  upon  a 
rocky  isle  in  the  Mediterranean;  its  associate  golden  candle- 
sticks gleam  in  the  darkness  of  Asia  Minor,  while  the  mystic 
brilliance  of  its  stars  illumines  the  long  night  of  the  Christian 
age,  and  are  clearly  characteristic  of  ecclesiastical  leadership. 
The  mystic  avenues  that  are  pressed  by  the  burning  feet  of 
the  glorified  Christ,  as  he  walks  among  the  churches,  are  those 
of  his  developing  kingdom. 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  113 

But  now  a  radical  change  of  environment.  The  realm  of  the 
natural  gives  place  to  that  which  is  more  occult  and  more 
profoundly  spiritual.  A  transcendent  edifice  now  rises  to  view 
which  will  fairly  whelm  us  with  its  splendor,  bankrupt  expres- 
sion, and  drown  our  struggling  thought.  Here  the  curtains  of 
eternity  lift,  and  the  mystery  of  all  mysteries  assumes  symbolic 
visibility.  Light  flashes  across  the  face  of  its  mighty  deep 
as  the  Eternal  Spirit  moves  upon  it  with  power  to  bring  order 
out  of  the  intricate  maze  of  its  chaos.  First,  an  awful  throne 
rises  to  view.  It  is  the  secret  abode  of  the  lightnings  and 
thunders,  while  from  it  emanate  terrifying  voices.  Upon  it  is 
seated  an  indescribable  Presence,  before  whom  cherubic  beings 
ceaselessly  chant,  ''Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,  which 
was,  and  is,  and  is  to  come."  The  sublime  epiphany  of  the 
Eternal  Son,  glorified,  and  regnant  within  the  mystic  lines  of 
the  preceding  series,  forecasts  this  epiphany,  more  sublime, 
which  thus  meets  us  at  the  head  of  this  celestial  series  now 
opening.  Not  only  is  it  an  epiphany  of  the  King  eternal,  im- 
mortal, and  invisible,  the  only  wise  God,  and  our  Father;  but 
it  is  also  a  symbolic  disclosure  of  the  Godhead's  deepest  sea. 
Taken  together  as  a  mystic  and  progressive  characterization 
of  the  incomprehensible  nature  of  the  Infinite,  these  two  epiph- 
anies of  Father  and  Son  both  scripturally  and  logically  portend 
a  third,  in  which  the  personality  of  the  Eternal  Spirit  shall  be 
disclosed  in  equal  splendor,  and  with  paraphernalia  and  en- 
vironment equally  impressive  and  mystically  lucid  with  respect 
to  the  dignity  of  office  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  such  is  not  the 
case,  then  by  so  much  does  the  Apocalypse  fail  to  sustain  the 
fact  of  the  deity  of  the  Third  Person  of  the  Godhead.  The 
fact  of  the  existence  of  this  sublime  trichotomic  feature  of 
the  symbolism  can  but  be  recognized  as  of  supreme  importance 
with  respect  to  the  exposition  of  the  book.  If  nothing  more 
should  be  accomplished  than  the  demonstration  of  this  fact 
this  work  will  not  have  been  written  in  vain. 

The  scope  of  characterization  from  the  standpoint  of  the 


114  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Theophany  takes  the  entire  range  of  being,  from  the  throne 
supreme  down  to  the  atoms  that  form  the  structure  of  the 
universe;  from  the  initial  chant  cherubic  onward  to  a  point 
where  its  ceaseless  rhythm  is  drowned  in  the  deep-toned  thunder 
of  a  music  that  comes  from  the  lips  of  the  unnumbered  millions 
of  the  redeemed.  This  glorious  throne  Theophanic  is  the 
central  sun  in  these  apocalyptic  heavens.  Its  steady  stream- 
ings illumine  all  the  changing  phases  of  the  passing  panorama 
while  its  stated  activity  marks  the  order  and  significance  of 
the  passing  scroll.  While  the  throne  itself  is  vocal,  the  glorious 
Personality  seated  upon  it  is  mute,  nor  does  he  ever  descend 
from  this  sublime  position  of  exaltation.  Till  the  universal 
frame  dissolves  in  the  presence  of  the  final  flamings  of  his 
awful  throne  no  word  comes  directly  from  his  lips,  and  even 
then  the  voice  we  hear  is  mysteriously  blended  with  that  of  the 
Alpha  and  Omega  articulated  by  the  lingual  sword — sym- 
bolism that  is  associated  with  the  point  where  the  mystery  of 
God  is  finished. 

The  structural  plan  of  this  celestial  series,  as  has  been 
noted  in  the  Prolegomena,  is  an  advance  upon  that  of  the 
epistles,  or  book  of  the  Christophany.  It  is  more  complex, 
and  far  more  comprehensive  in  its  scope,  with  a  most  profound 
involution  of  its  dominant  sacred  number.  In  the  epistles 
its  expression  is  complete,  while  in  the  series  now  to  develop 
it  is  broken  into  by  a  parenthetic  involution  which  regularly 
follows  the  utterance  of  its  sixth  member  by  the  development 
of  a  coordinate  seven,  or  Contrastive  Counterpart,  the  seventh 
member  being  expanded  into  a  new  series.  The  dividing  line 
between  the  quadrate  and  the  triad  becomes  more  sharp,  so 
that  there  is  no  excuse  for  our  misapprehension  of  this  struc- 
tural feature  of  the  plan,  though  the  complexity  thus  introduced 
may  become  perplexing  in  the  extreme. 

The  Christophany  presents  but  a  single  phase  and  a  corre- 
sponding adjustment  with  the  groupings  of  its  associate  series  ; 
while  there  is  greater  complexity  in  the  paraphernalia  of  the 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  115 

Theophany,  it  clearly  presents  the  same  suggestions  of  expo- 
nential office.  The  sacred  number  is  dominant  as  before, 
though  the  whelming  scene  of  the  Theophany  is  presented 
in  dual  phase,  the  fact  thus  placing  in  position  the  two  great 
exponential  headlands  of  the  symbolism.  The  first  phase  may 
be  conceived  as  ontological,  the  second  as  redemptorial.  Let 
us  now  proceed  to  the  Theophany  itself. 

The  Theophany — Its  Ontological  Phase 
The  avenues  pressed  by  the  burning  feet  of  the  Christophany 
were  terrestrial — among  the  churches.  The  scene  is  now  trans- 
ferred to  the  celestial  sphere,  the  transition  being  tersely  stated : 
"After  this  I  looked,  and,  behold,  a  door  was  opened  in  heaven ; 
and  the  first  voice  which  I  heard  was  as  it  were  of  a  trumpet 
talking  with  me ;  which  said.  Come  up  hither,  and  I  will  show 
thee  things  which  must  be  hereafter." 

The  value  of  this  statement  appears  in  the  fact  that  it 
governs  all  the  panoramic  disclosures  that  will  develop  upon 
the  passing  apocalyptic  scroll.  We  have  seen  that  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Christophany  there  was  a  double  command 
*'to  write";  first,  in  single  phase,  ''What  thou  seest,  write  in 
a  book,  and  send  it  unto  the  seven  churches  which  are  in 
Asia."  In  the  sixth  member  of  the  Christophanic  grouping 
we  have  an  enlarged  commission  in  which  the  seer  is  com- 
manded to  "write  the  things  which  thou  hast  seen,  and  the 
things  which  are,  and  the  things  which  shall  be  hereafter." 
The  trine  phase  of  this  enlarged  commission  looks  forward  to 
the  development  of  the  scroll  of  this  celestial  series,  and  thus 
informs  us  that  it  will  take  the  sweep  of  the  whole  vast  field 
of  ontological  truth,  past,  present,  and  future.  It  is  true  that 
the  statement  touches  but  one — the  final — point  of.  the  com- 
mission, but  by  an  apocalyptic  law  which  will  later  appear 
the  reference  to  the  paragraph  here  carries  with  it  the  fact  that 
it  is  understood  to  be  dominant  in  all  the  fullness  of  its 
expression. 


ii6  The  Last  AIessage  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Exponential  Ontological  Grouping 

the  quadrate 

(i)   The  Throned  One:   "And  immediately   I   was   in  the 

Spirit:  and,  behold,  a  throne  was  set  in  heaven,  and  One  sat 

on  the  throne.     And  He  that  sat  was  to  look  upon  like  a 

jasper  and  a  sardine  stone." 

(2)  The  Bow  about  the  Throne :  ''x\nd  there  was  a  Rainbow 
round  about  the  throne,  in  sight  like  unto  an  emerald." 

(3)  The  Twenty-four  Throned  Elders:  "And  round  about 
the  throne  were  four  and  twenty  thrones :  and  upon  the  thrones 
I  saw  four  and  twenty  Elders  sitting,  clothed  in  white  raiment ; 
and  they  had  on  their  heads  crowns  of  gold." 

(4)  The  Concerted  Throne  Voicings:  "And  out  of  the 
throne  proceeded  Lightnings,  and  Voices,  and  Thunders." 

THE   TRIAD 

(5)  The  Seven  Spirits:  "And  there  were  seven  Lamps  of 
Fire  burning  before  the  throne,  which  are  the  seven  Spirits 
of  God." 

(6)  The  Crystal  Sea:  "And  before  the  throne  there  was  a 
Sea  of  Glass  like  unto  crystal." 

(7)  The  Four  Zoa:  "And  in  the  midst  of  the  throne,  and 
round  about  the  throne,  were  four  Beasts,  full  of  eyes  before 
and  behind.  And  the  first  beast  was  like  a  lion,  and  the 
second  beast  was  like  a  calf,  and  the  third  beast  had  a  face  as 
a  man,  and  the  fourth  beast  was  like  a  flying  eagle.  And  the 
four  beasts  had  each  one  of  them  six  wings  about  him;  and 
they  were  full  of  eyes  within :  and  they  rest  not  day  and  night, 
saying,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  Almighty,  which  was,  and 
is,  and  is  to  come.  And  when  those  beasts  give  glory  and 
honor  and  thanks  to  him  that  sat  on  the  throne,  who  liveth  for- 
ever and  ever,  the  four  and  twenty  elders  fall  down  before 
him  that  sat  on  the  throne  and  worship  him  that  liveth  forever 
and  ever,  and  cast  their  crowns  before  the  throne,   saying, 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  117 

Thou  art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory  and  honor  and 
power,  for  thou  hast  created  all  things,  and  for  thy  pleasure 
they  are  and  were  created." 

It  should  hardly  be  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  importance 
of  the  factors  that  here  lift  themselves  to  view  in  these  apoc- 
alyptic headlands,  or  to  urge  their  critical  study.  They  are 
the  great  dominating  factors  of  the  symbolism. 

The  Master  of  Ceremonies 
At  the  head  of  all  these  different  series  there  is  disclosed 
an  executive  agency  clothed  in  paraphernalia  pregnant  with 
meaning  with  respect  to  the  symbolism  to  be  developed.  In 
the  Christophany  it  was  a  trumpetlike  voice.  John  turned  to 
behold  it,  and  saw  the  Christophany.  Here  it  is  the  same 
voice  within  the  veil  that  commands,  Come  up  hither.  He 
obeys,  and  is  immediately  in  the  Spirit.  Whether  we  have 
here  a  valuable  intimation  with  respect  to  the  Trumpets  them- 
selves raises  an  interesting  question.  But  the  voice  here 
cannot  be  other  than  that  of  the  great  executive  of  the  apoc- 
alyptic symbolism,  the  Angel  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  sent  to 
signify  it  unto  John.  Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  symbols 
themselves. 

The  Chromatic  Glory  of  Deity 
figures  I  and  2 
It  is  a  most  impressive  as  well  as  most  instructive  fact  that, 
in  the  presence  of  this  awful  majesty  around  and  upon  the 
throne,  the  apocalyptic  limner  lays  down  the  brush.  No  at- 
tempt will  be  made  to  portray  the  features  of  Him  who  no 
man  hath  seen  or  can  see.  Visually  there  is  only  the  appear- 
ance of  trinitarian  chromatic  splendor.  In  scenic  word-paint- 
ing the  picture  is  transcendent.  Above  the  flaming  lightnings, 
terrifying  voices,  and  roaring  thunders  of  the  throne  we  behold 
the  chromatic  beauty  of  three  gems:  the  jasper,  sardius,  and 


ii8  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

emerald.  The  first  two  are  blended  in  an  indescribable  Per- 
sonality upon  the  throne,  whose  position  thus  is  significant 
of  executive  office;  while  the  unbroken  circlet,  combining  the 
sevenfold  splendors  of  the  bow  in  its  emerald  beauty,  completes 
the  symbolic  scene,  which  thus  visually  discloses  the  mysterious 
nature,  office,  and  interrelation  of  the  triune  personality  of  the 
Eternal  God.  In  the  blending  of  these  two  colors  of  white  and 
red  within  this  emerald  zone,  and  in  thus  dignifying  them  with 
executive  position,  we  have  the  characteristic  revelation  of 
fundamental  truth.  It  is  but  the  recognition — here  in  the  great 
headlands  of  the  symbolism — of  the  same  principle  that  has 
already  been  presented  in  the  Christophany  and  which  will  be 
presented  again  with  varying  splendor  and  changed  expression 
in  the  Pneumatophany.  However  modified  or  transformed  in 
either  Christophanic,  Theophanic,  or  Pneumatophanic  expres- 
sion, it  is  always  the  same. 

These  two  gems  that  are  blended  upon  the  throne  were  first 
and  last  in  the  breastplate  of  the  high  priest.  The  jasper  is 
the  first  jewel  that  is  laid  in  the  foundations  of  the  new  Jeru- 
salem, whence  its  glory  is  transmitted  to  the  raiment  of  the 
Bride — the  fact  settling  the  question  as  to  the  color  of  the 
jasper.  It  was  pure  white ;  for  such  is  the  color  of  her  robings. 
The  crimson  of  the  sardius,  while  it  has  a  most  profound 
fundamental  meaning  in  its  position  here,  may  be  conceived 
as  touching  the  principle  of  atonement  and  redemption.  We 
will  meet  again  both  these  colors  in  the  final  battle  clash  of 
Armageddon. 

The  emerald  glory  environing  all  presents  the  color  which, 
as  associate  with  the  flora  of  earth,  suggests  the  principle 
of  life ;  here,  in  its  unbroken  completeness,  eternal  life  inherent 
in  him  whose  incomprehensible  Being  is  thus  expressed  in 
symbol.  The  rainbow,  composed  of  its  seven  prismatic  colors, 
is  a  symbol  of  divine  compassion  and  mercy.  It  spanned  the 
retiring  waters  of  the  deluge  as  the  pledge  of  an  everlasting 
covenant  between  God  and  men.     Something,  perhaps,  of  its 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  119 

ancient  office  may  be  recognized  here.  It  hedges  the  Hghtnings 
and  thunders  of  this  awful  throne,  and  will  finally  hush  them 
to  silence  in  the  presence  of  the  triumph  of  redeeming  love. 
We  shall  meet  this  symbol  again — in  the  Pneumatophany. 
There  it  is  not  disclosed  as  environing  the  throne  but  circling 
the  head  of  an  Angel,  whose  body  is  concealed  in  robing  clouds 
but  whose  face  and  feet  are  those  of  the  Alpha  and  Omega, 
treading  the  terraqueous  globe.  The  changed  expression  of 
the  symbols  there  we  shall  find  to  be  as  powerfully  expressive 
of  trinitarian  truth  as  here.  It  is  true  that  this  sublime  aureole 
that  environs  the  eternal  throne  is  here  borrowed  to  dignify 
the  head  of  an  angel;  but  the  fact  is  sufficient  proof  that  he 
is  not  a  created  angel,  but  this  mysterious  apocalyptic  Angel 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Twenty-four  Throned  Elders 
This  third  figure  of  the  Theophany  is  confessedly  most 
difficult  of  solution.  Its  dignity  is  indicated  by  the  position 
that  it  occupies.  It  is  next  the  throne.  As  the  third  figure  of 
this  Theophanic  seven  it  takes  precedence  over  that  which 
is  unmistakably  a  symbol  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  all  the  fullness 
of  his  divinity  as  the  seven  lamps  in  the  presence  of  the  throne. 
As  thus  environed  by  Deity,  throned  in  chromatic  splendor 
on  the  one  side  and  by  the  brilliance  of  its  sevenfold  flamings 
on  the  other,  we  would  naturally  be  led  to  expect  at  this  struc- 
tural point  the  introduction  of  a  figure  resolvable  into  a  like 
dignified  mystic  characterization  of  the  Personality  of  the 
Eternal  Son.  This  demand  seems  imperative  in  the  presence 
of  the  fact  that  a  great  seven  is  thus  formed,  though  in  reverse 
order,  in  this  leading  exponential  grouping  of  the  Theophany: 
(i)  The  Throned  One;  (2)  The  twenty- four  throned  elders; 
(3)  the  seven  Spirits.  The  divisional  line  of  the  crystal  sea, 
and  then  the  creational  four,  as  the  zoa,  surrounding  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  throne.  The  mystic  expression  of  such  a  great 
seven  would  be  thus  structurally  complete  were  it  not  for  the 


I20  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

perplexing  anomaly  of  this  third  and  most  mysterious  figure  of 
these  throned  elders. 

When  we  contemplate  the  fact  that  the  Throned  Eternal, 
unnamed,  is  represented  in  the  chromatic  blendings  of  these 
gems  and  the  Eternal  Spirit  in  the  distributive  figure  of  the 
lamps,  it  is  not  illogical  to  conceive  of  the  possible  veiling  of 
the  Personality  of  the  Eternal  Son  in  correlate  distributive 
form.  But  the  paraphernaHa,  acts,  and  utterances  of  the  figure 
weigh  against  such  identification.  Again,  a  decided  negative 
is  presented  in  the  second  exponential  paragraph  of  the  Chris- 
tophany,  which,  as  has  been  previously  shown,  relates  to  both 
these  preludial  phases  of  the  Theophany.  Turning  again 
to  the  Light  at  the  Threshold,  we  find  that  the  order  in  which 
it  introduces  the  different  Personalities  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
anticipates  the  order  of  introduction  now  before  us,  placing 
the  symbol  of  the  Eternal  Spirit  in  the  same  distributive  form 
as  directly  sequent  to  that  of  the  Throned  One. 

The  position  of  the  Son  thus  becomes  third,  and  terminal ; 
and  in  such  association  with  these  elders  as  to  clearly  deter- 
mine that  the  point  of  reference  here  is  to  the  second  phase 
of  the  Theophany — the  redemptorial  scene.  Incidentally  light 
is  here  thrown  Upon  this  symbolism  of  the  elders.  A  careful 
comparison  of  these  sets  of  dual  exponents,  Christophanic  and 
Theophanic,  will  show  the  Revised  Version  rendering  of  chap- 
ter 5.  8-10  to  be  erratic  and  confusing.  The  Authorized 
Version  rendering  is  to  be  preferred.  In  the  tumultuous  scene 
which  follows  the  taking  of  the  sealed  book  by  the  Lamb  these 
elders  break  forth  into  a  "new  song,  saying,  Thou  art  worthy 
to  take  the  book:  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  redeemed  us 
to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue,  and 
people,  and  nation :  and  hast  made  us  unto  our  God  kings  and 
priests;  and  we  shall  reign  on  the  earth." 

This  utterance  clearly  determines  the  fact  that  it  is  voiced 
by  a  redeemed  humanity  which  is  thus  transformed  into  a  royal 
priesthood  as  it  is  gathered  out  of  the  four  quarters  of  the 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  121 

earth.  The  Christophanic  paragraph,  while  it  does  not  use 
the  term  ''elders,"  yet  does  so  parallel  their  paean  of  praise 
and  so  recognize  their  royal  priestly  character  as  to  leave  no 
room  for  question  with  respect  to  the  coincidence  of  the  voic- 
ing.   Let  the  parallel  be  carefully  noted : 

"Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace,  from  Him  which  is,  and 
which  was,  and  which  is  to  come;  and  from  the  seven  Spirits 
which  are  before  his  throne;  and  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  is 
the  faithful  Witness  [martyr],  and  the  first-begotten  of  the 
dead,  and  the  Prince  of  the  kings  of  the  earth  [these  kings]. 
Unto  him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his 
own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and 
his  Father,  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  forever  and  ever. 
Amen." 

These  ''kings  of  the  earth"  take  position  here  metaphorically, 
like  the  zoa,  with  whom  they  are  so  closely  associated  upon 
this  Theophanic  plane.  They  visualize  that  divine  kingdom 
which  was  prepared  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  They 
are  the  intelligent  and  spiritual  creation  of  God,  divided  from 
the  zoa  by  the  crystal  sea,  in  whose  behalf  all  the  mighty 
agencies  of  redemption  symbolized  here  are  set  in  motion.  The 
dignity  of  the  figure  is  primal  here,  as  it  will  be  in  the  breaking 
of  the  seals :  in  the  one  case  crowned  and  throned,  and  in 
the  other  crowned,  armed,  and  given  dominion.  It  stands  in 
such  close  relation  with  the  throne  that  it  possesses  the  secrets 
of  the  Eternal  and  sets  in  motion  the  machinery  of  divine 
retribution.  The  reader's  attention  is  directed  to  the  fact  of 
parallel  in  Gen.  i.  1-3,  which  adds  its  attestation  to  the  view 
that  this  first  paragraph  of  the  Theophany  is  creational.  God, 
the  Creator,  brings  the  heavens  and  the  earth  into  being. 
There  is  no  recognition  of  the  presence  of  the  Eternal  Word. 
The  structural  point  in  the  disclosure  of  the  diflferent  Persons 
of  the  Trinity  is  occupied  by  darkness.  Then  there  is  a  divine 
procession:  "And  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of 
the  waters."    The  absence  of  all  allusion  to  the  presence  of  the 


122  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Son,  either  in  this  record  in  Genesis  or  in  the  metaphor  of  this 
mystic  creational  scene,  may  uncover  for  us  still  another  deep 
in  the  mystery  of  the  Godhead :  the  Son  himself  is  the  Creator, 
and  thus  must  be  assigned  position  upon  the  throne.  He  ''was 
in  the  beginning  with  God.  All  things  were  made  by  him; 
and  without  him  was  not  anything  made  that  was  made."  We 
may  not  as  yet  be  quite  able  to  understand  why  this  dual  instead 
of  trinitarian  chromatic  splendor  blends  upon  the  throne,  yet 
the  fact  can  hardly  be  other  than  impressive. 

One  of  the  most  instructive  features  of  this  symbol  of  the 
elders,  if  its  significance  is  not  misapprehended,  is  that  it  is 
given  position  in  both  sections  of  this  Theophanic  seven.  In 
its  quadrate  they  are  crowned  and  throned  as  in  the  immediate 
presence  of  Almighty  God ;  while  in  the  triad  they  unite  with 
the  zoa  in  their  solemn  chant  of  the  sublime  creational  hymn 
of  praise.    But  this  must  be  considered  farther  on. 

The  Concerted  Throne  Utterances 
The  character  and  importance  of  this  fourth  member  of  the 
Theophanic  quadrate  has  already  been  emphasized  in  the  Intro- 
ductory Study  of  the  Apocalyptic  Symbolism  (Prolegomena, 
page  25).  No  detail  with  respect  to  these  symbols  may  be 
slighted.  Their  structural  position  here  and  elsewhere,  their 
transposition,  individual  utterance,  and  augmentation  in  the 
development  of  the  mighty  theme,  are  all  matters  of  vital  impor- 
tance to  our  study.  In  their  concerted  utterance  they  are  the 
flaming  and  vocal  preface  of  each  of  the  grand  divisions  of  this 
celestial  series.  Like  all  the  symbolism  of  this  book,  they  have 
their  origin  in  the  Old  Testament.  It  was  their  activities  that 
made  Moses's  heart  quake  on  Sinai.  Israel,  in  its  march  to  the 
Promised  Land,  has  reached  the  base  of  the  mount.  The 
promise  has  been  given  that  upon  the  third  day  Jehovah 
would  descend  "in  a  thick  cloud"  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people. 
The  day  arrives,  and  the  terrific  display  that  ensues  is  intro- 
duced by  these  awe-inspiring  utterances.     They  are  thus  the 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  123 

avant  couriers  of  Almighty  God  in  the  darkness  and  tempest 
of  Sinai.  They  perform  a  hke  office  with  respect  to  this  trans- 
cendent scenery  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  sublime  scene  is  thus 
described  by  Moses: 

"And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  third  day,  when  it  was  morn- 
ing, that  there  were  thunders  and  lightnings,  and  a  thick  cloud 
upon  the  mount,  and  the  voice  of  a  trumpet  exceeding  loud, 
and  all  the  people  that  were  in  the  camp  trembled.  And  Moses 
brought  forth  the  people  out  of  the  camp  to  meet  Elohim ;  and 
they  stood  at  the  nether  part  of  the  mount.  And  Mount  Sinai 
was  altogether  on  smoke,  because  Jehovah  descended  upon 
it  in  fire:  and  the  smoke  thereof  ascended  as  the  smoke  of 
a  furnace,  and  the  whole  mountain  quaked  greatly.  And  when 
the  voice  of  the  trumpet  waxed  louder  and  louder  Moses  spake, 
and  Elohim  answered  him  by  a  voice"  (Exod.  19.  16-19). 

Here  we  find  in  association  with  these  celestial  utterances  a 
mysterious  blending  of  two  divine  Personalities — Jehovah,  the 
covenant  God  of  Israel,  and  Elohim  the  Creator.  The  people 
are  brought  forth  to  meet  with  Elohim ;  Jehovah  descends  upon 
the  mount  in  flaming  fire ;  Moses  speaks,  and  Elohim  answers 
him  by  a  voice.  As  the  critics  would  say,  we  have  here  the 
plasm  of  the  Theophany.  Like  the  chromatic  glory  upon  the 
throne  and  surrounding  it,  these  utterances  again  powerfully 
support  the  trinitarian  principle.  While  the  mystery  involved 
in  these  utterances  may  be  as  inscrutable  as  that  of  the  Trinity 
itself,  yet  the  delicate  ear  may  catch  something  of  their  divine 
secret  in  their  method  of  expression.  The  Revised  Version 
is  doubtless  correct  in  giving  the  "voices"  central  position, 
which  they  always  maintain  between  these  fulminations  from 
the  throne,  while  the  lightnings  and  the  thunders  exchange 
places  at  the  head  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany.  The 
voices  thus  come  from  the  great  fathomless  deep  of  Deity, 
while  the  thunders  are  simply  the  audible  associate  of  the 
lightning's  flash.  This  well-known  physical  fact  thus  shadows 
the  meaning  of  the  lingual  sword  in  the  figure  of  the  Chris- 


124  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

tophany.  It  is  the  agent  of  the  audible  voice  that  comes  out 
of  the  flamings  of  its  glory.  This  conception  of  the  mystic 
office  of  the  thunders  is  further  strengthened  by  the  fact  that 
the  loud  voice  of  the  Angel  of  the  Pneumatophany  is  supported 
by  the  sevenfold  fullness  of  their  power. 

Again,  a  marvelous  parallel  appears  with  respect  to  the 
divine  procession  of  this  Pneumatophanic  Angel  and  One  with 
like  lineaments  divine  who  assumes  like  official  position  at  the 
head  of  the  hosts  of  Israel  camped  in  the  presence  of  the 
flaming  mount.  Jehovah  thus  announces  him :  ^'Behold,  I  send 
an  Angel  before  thee,  to  keep  thee  by  the  way,  and  to  bring 
thee  into  the  place  which  I  have  prepared.  Take  ye  heed  of 
him,  and  hearken  unto  his  voice;  provoke  him  not:  for  he 
will  not  pardon  your  transgressions;  for  my  name  is  in  him" 
(Exod.  23.  20,  21).  Isaiah,  in  unmistakable  allusion  to  this 
passage,  positively  identifies  this  Angel  as  the  Holy  Spirit 
(Isa.  63.  9-11).  The  structural  reason  thus  appears  for  the 
introduction  of  these  throne  voicings  in  the  Theophany  as 
antecedent  to  that  of  the  mystic  Personality  who  is  unmistak- 
ably the  Third  Person  of  the  Godhead. 

When  the  exponential  office  of  these  throne  utterances  with 
regard  to  the  different  series  of  the  book  is  perceived  they  will 
reduce  the  chaos  of  apocalyptic  interpretation  to  beautiful 
harmony  and  order.  Failure  to  recognize  it  simply  means  the 
continuance  of  the  wild  vagaries  that  have  passed  for  exposi- 
tion. The  individual  utterance  of  the  thunders,  alluded  to 
above,  will  be  considered  at  a  later  point  of  our  study. 

The  Seven  Spirits 
The  character  of  this  symbol,  which  is  the  ranking  factor 
of  the  triad  of  the  Theophany,  having  been  so  largely  antici- 
pated, it  will  not  be  necessary  to  dwell  upon  it  at  length.  It 
will  be  remembered  that  the  dual  exponents  of  the  Christoph- 
any  presented  the  Persons  of  the  Holy  Trinity  (i)  as  Jesus 
Christ,  (2)  as  God,  (3)  the  Angel  of  Jesus  Christ.     Passing 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  125 

to  the  second  exponential  grouping,  they  were  presented  again 
in  changed  order  and  phase :  ( i )  as  Him  who  is,  and  was,  and 
is  to  come;  (2)  the  seven  Spirits  which  are  before  his  throne; 
(3)  Jesus  Christ,  the  faithful  Martyr,  and  Prince  of  the  kings 
of  the  earth.  The  great  deep  that  is  thus  opened  to  our  vision 
in  these  exponential  headlands  of  the  symbolism  is  that  the 
Third  Person  of  the  Godhead  will  appear  on  the  one  side  of 
the  great  drama  in  an  individual  capacity,  as  the  Angel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  on  the  other  in  this  distributive  form. 

We  are  compelled  to  recognize  the  mobility  of  the  symbol 
in  the  fact  that  it  is  no  sooner  introduced  in  the  Theophany 
than  it  transforms.  At  first  it  is  disclosed  as  the  seven  burning 
lamps  in  the  presence  of  the  throne,  which  as  such  are  reminis- 
cent of  the  Christophanic  lampstands.  These  seven  next 
become  the  seven  Spirits,  which  again  transform  into  seven 
eyes,  and  combine  in  the  figure  of  the  Lamb,  standing  in  the 
presence  of  the  sealed  book,  as  it  had  been  slain. 

The  repeated  metamorphoses  of  this  symbol  should  make 
us  alert  with  respect  to  any  possible  later  transformation  that 
might  be  presented  in  the  changing  phases  of  the  passing 
apocalyptic  scroll.  If  we  do  not  find  them  transformed,  then 
as  a  factor  they  vanish  from  the  symbolism  as  they  thus 
combine  with  the  figure  of  the  Lamb,  for  we  meet  them  no 
more. 

The  Crystal  Sea 

This  crystal  expanse  before  the  throne  is  clothed  in  the 
same  mystery  that  veils  all  the  symbolism  of  the  Theophany. 
Its  importance  is  indicated  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the  central 
factor  of  the  Theophanic  triad  now  to  be  thrown  upon  the 
screen.  In  its  taking  precedence  of  the  zoa  it  holds  the 
suggestion  of  antecedent  and  eternal  conditions.  If  they, 
as  sequent,  represent  the  material  frame,  then  this  transpar- 
ency before  the  throne,  ''like  unto  crystal,"  may  touch  that 
mysterious  substantiality  that  lies  back  of  gross  matter. 

As  a  fundamental  reality  it  precedes  the  chant  of  the  zoa. 


126  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

and  will  again  rise  to  view  when  they  finish  their  office  and 
pass  away;  here  calm  in  its  crystal  fixedness  and  serenity, 
there  mingled  with  fire  as  under  the  feet  of  the  mighty  multi- 
tude of  victors  who  share  in  redemption's  harvest  home.  As 
a  factor  of  the  symbolism  it  is  introduced  but  twice:  first  in 
these  exponential  headlands,  and  finally  at  the  head  of  the 
retributive  section  of  the  book,  where  it  is  disclosed  as  sur- 
charged with  fire.  Immateriality,  changeless  in  its  substan- 
tiality, yet  in  the  great  day  of  the  wrath  of  God  and  the 
Lamb  mingled  with  fire,  presents  a  profundity  of  symbol  of 
a  character  that  forbids  didactic  approach.  Solemn  indeed  is 
this  scene,  where  Nature  delivers  her  sevenfold  stroke  of 
vengeance  upon  sin,  while  above  the  fiery  billows  of  this 
crystal  sea  sound  the  harps  of  God  and  the  triumphant  song 
of  Moses  and  the  Lamb.  Angels,  even,  do  not  intrude  upon 
the  scene,  save  those  who  wear  the  Christophanic  girdle  of 
gold,  and  in  the  presence  of  wdiose  action  at  this  point  it  is 
proper  that  we  pause :  on  the  one  side,  immateriality  on  fire 
with  the  wrath  of  God ;  on  the  other,  nature,  with  the  golden 
vials,  once  filled  with  the  incense  of  prayer,  now  charged  with 
divine  vengeance  in  the  hand  of  these  divine  executives.  Ah, 
whither  shall  the  sinner  flee  for  refuge? 

The  Four  Zoa 
Dr.  Whedon  says  with  respect  to  these  "living  creatures": 
"The  word  zoon  comprehends  everything  finite  possessed  of 
intelligent  life.  These  zoa  symbolize  creation  in  its  highest 
aspects  and  its  relation  to  its  Creator.  The  living  beings 
represent  not  merely  the  animal  kingdom,  but  also  the  very 
structure  of  the  earth,  and  all  things  known  under  physical 
philosophy.  This  is  shown  by  their  number,  four,  which  refers 
to  the  cardinal  points,  and  so  to  the  physical  system.  The 
term  zoon  implies  that  the  whole  mundane  system  is  inspirited. 
The  Spirit  of  God  is  the  soul  of  nature.  The  whole  is  Im- 
pregnate with  his  all-wise  power,  and  is  thereby  enabled  to 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  127 

move  by  the  law  of  its  true  development.  Each  and  every 
particle  of  matter  thereby  sees  with  divine  eyes  which  way  to 
move  to  incorporate  itself  into  an  organism,  and  so  physiology 
and  the  generative  races  are  possible.  Each  chemical  element 
sees  how  to  act  to  carry  out  God's  prescribed  affinities,  and  all 
its  six  wings  hasten  to  be  in  exact  time ;  and  so  it  is  that  matter 
and  motion,  under  the  rule  of  intelligence,  unite  to  form  a 
systematic  universe." 

We  must  approach  the  study  of  this  symbol  through  the 
media  of  Old  Testament  prophecy,  for  clearly  it  is  here  that 
we  have  the  plasm  out  of  which  the  figure  is  formed.  Isaiah, 
in  his  vision  in  the  temple,  beholds  as  in  the  train,  or  skirts 
of  the  throne,  the  seraphim,  or  burning  ones,  who,  like  these 
zoa,  have  six  wings,  and  who,  like  them,  chant  a  trisagion  of 
praise,  in  the  presence  of  the  Eternal,  of  ''Holy,  holy,  holy 
is  the  Lord  of  hosts:  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory." 
In  the  vision  of  Ezekiel  on  the  Chebar  the  figure  and  its 
environment  present  one  of  the  most  complex  studies  of  the 
entire  Word  of  God.  The  figure  there  quadrates  four  times: 
in  number,  faces,  wings,  and  an  associate  system  of  mighty 
wheels  whose  color  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  bow  that  here 
environs  the  throne.  The  faces  presented  in  Ezekiel  are  the 
same  as  these  in  John,  save  that  the  man-face  occupies  first 
position  instead  of  third;  while  the  eyes,  instead  of  being  a 
component  part  of  the  zoon,  are  located  in  the  wheels.  The 
figure  in  either  case  presents  a  conception  too  mi>nstrous  and 
uncouth  to  be  entertained  for  a  moment  as  a  literalism.  With 
the  significance  of  the  eye  symbol  disclosed  in  the  redemptorial 
scene  to  follow,  where  the  seven  Spirits  of  God,  as  the  eyes 
of  the  Lamb,  repeat  this  feature  of  the  zoa,  we  can  hardly  ifiiss 
the  thought  of  matter  and  spirit  united  in  the  formation  of 
the  cosmos — a  conception  which  could  hardly  be  more  per- 
tinently expressed  by  the  profoundest  philosophy,  and  yet 
here  developed  under  the  hand  of  the  unlearned  and  unphilo- 
sophical    fisherman    of    Galilee.      Ontologlcal    truth    breaks 


■^ 


128  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

through  the  veil  all  along  the  line  of  this  Theophany.  For 
instance,  the  dual  nature  and  eternal  destiny  of  man  are  clearly 
shadowed  in  the  symbols.  In  the  first  division  of  the  group- 
ings he  appears  in  dignified  position,  as  crowned  and  throned 
in  the  immediate  presence  of  God  and  sharing  the  secrets  of 
the  throne,  and  in  the  second  division  he  becomes  brother  to 
the  beasts  and  birds;  created  in  the  image  of  God  and  yet  of 
the  earth,  earthy,  and  under  the  thrall  of  death.  Popular 
thought  conceives  of  seraphic  and  cherubic  orders  of  angels 
as  standing  apart,  or  lifting  themselves  above  the  shining 
ranks  of  the  sons  of  the  morning,  but  it  always  divests  them 
of  these  multiple  wings  and  faces ;  nor  does  art  ever  attempt 
to  picture  them  in  the  likeness  that  is  here  scripturally  dis- 
closed. But  as  introduced  in  this  Theophany  they  seem  to 
be  both  structurally  and  essentially  segregated  from  the  an- 
gelic order.  They  appear  here  as  an  essential  part  of  the 
picture  in  which  is  delineated  the  transcendent  character  of 
the  creation  of  God,  in  which  atoms  as  well  as  angels  chant 
his  praise  and  show  forth  his  glory,  and  are  ready  with  their 
six  wings  to  fly  to  the  ends  of  the  universe  in  obedience  to 
his  sovereign  will. 

Creation's  Worship  in  the  Presence  of  the  Throne 
This  worship,  which  closes  this  exponential  section,  must 
not  be  understood  as  introducing  a  new  and  distinct  division. 
It  but  details  the  action  of  the  last  figure  introduced,  and  with 
it  associates  that  of  the  elders.  This  blending  of  the  worship 
of  the  zoa  and  the  elders  is  most  profoundly  significant.  It 
discloses  the  latter  figure  as  in  position  on  both  sides  of  the 
great  drama:  as  throned  in  the  presence  of  God  and  sharing 
his  secrets,  while  it  is  brother  to  the  beasts  and  birds  as  with 
the  zoa  it  prostrates  itself  in  the  dust  and  blends  its  worship 
with  their  ceaseless  trisagion  of  praise.  Our  ears  may  be 
too  dull  to  hear  this  chant,  or  our  hearts  too  dead  to  join  its 
sacred  strain,  still  it  remains  a  sublime  reality  of  the  universe 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  129 

which  no  discordant  note  will  ever  arrest.  Since  creation 
rose  into  being  it  has  not  ceased  to  voice  the  character  of  its 
Creator — restless  suns  coursing  onward  in  the  track  of  un- 
fathomed  mystery,  restless  planets  swinging  in  their  orbits, 
restless  atoms  throughout  the  whole  natural  realm,  all  voicing 
the  holiness  of  God.  Holiness  is  written  all  over  the  face  of 
nature  because  its  Creator  is  a  holy  God.  Men  may  forget 
or  ignore  it,  even  the  harps  of  the  angels  may  cease  to  throb 
with  its  music,  but  Nature  will  never  forget.  From  her  hand 
will  pass  the  cup  that  avenges  the  insult  of  sin  to  her  Creator. 

The  slight  divergence  between  the  voicings  of  these  two 
figures  should  be  noted,  as  it  involves  a  structural  principle. 
In  both  cases,  like  the  utterances  of  the  throne  itself,  they 
are  distinctly  trinitarian.  The  zoa  give  "glory,  and  honor, 
and  thanks,  to  him  that  sat  on  the  throne."  The  elders  join 
this  worship  of  the  zoa  by  falling  down  in  the  presence  of 
the  throne  in  worship  of  Him  that  liveth  forever  and  ever, 
and  then  they  cast  their  crowns  before  the  throne  and  give 
an  intelligent  reason  for  the  worship  which  they  offer :  "Thou 
art  worthy,  O  Lord,  to  receive  glory,  and  honor,  and  power: 
for  thou  hast  created  all  things:  and  for  thy  pleasure  they 
are  and  were  created."  It  will  be  noted  that  in  this  worship 
of  the  elders  the  word  "power"  displaces  or  supersedes  the 
terminal  utterance  of  the  praise  of  the  zoa.  In  the  next  phase 
we  shall  find  these  elders  in  their  voicings  taking  up  the  strain 
where  the  angels  end,  thus  suggesting  a  continuity  that  forms 
a  part  of  the  mystic  plan.  It  will  be  noted  that  these  elders 
are  not  evolutionists.  They  recognize  the  great  fact  that 
there  has  been  a  creation ;  there  was  a  time  when  the  Eternal 
put  forth  creative  energy  and  the  depths  flamed  with  suns 
and  systems,  while  the  shout  of  immortal  spirits  broke  in  upon 
the  solitudes  of  the  rolling  eternities.  There  has  been  a  crea- 
tion. They  utter  the  great  truth  in  the  presence  of  the  throne, 
and  no  dissonant  voice  in  the  universe  is  heard  in  controver- 
sion.   Its  lines  traverse  both  sides  of  the  crystal  sea,  involving 


130  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

things  invisible,  as  well  as  things  visible,  as  the  product  of 
outgoing  omnipotent  power. 

The  Theophany — The  Redemptorial  Scene 
Attention  must  here  be  directed  to  a  possible  change  in 
structural  expression.  The  fact  has  already  been  anticipated 
in  the  deployment  of  the  factors  of  the  epistolary  grouping. 
The  triad  there  takes  the  leading  position,  instead  of  the  quad- 
rate, which  unquestionably  dominates  one  side  of  the  pano- 
rama. A  careful  study  of  the  factors  of  the  preceding  phase 
of  the  Theophany  led  to  the  division  which  there  gives  the 
quadrate  the  leading  position.  The  same  care  here  in  like 
manner  seems  to  give  it  to  the  triad.  The  great  thought  of 
this  seven  is  that  of  the  impenetrable  mystery  of  the  sealed 
book,  three  worlds  hopeless  before  it,  the  triumph  of  the 
Lamb — over  which  glorious  fact  the  universe,  properly  in  its 
quadrate  voicing,  goes  wild  with  joy.  The  order  of  adjust- 
ment as  it  presents  itself  to  the  writer  is  as  follows : 

the  triad 

( 1 )  The  sealed  book :  "And  I  saw  in  the  right  hand  of  him 
that  sat  on  the  throne  a  book  written  within  and  on  the  back 
side,  close  sealed  with  seven  seals." 

(2)  The  challenge:  "And  I  saw  a  strong  angel  proclaiming 
with  a  loud  voice.  Who  is  worthy  to  open  the  book,  and  to 
loose  the  seals  thereof?  And  no  man  in  heaven,  nor  in  earth, 
neither  under  the  earth,  was  able  to  open  the  book,  neither  to 
look  thereon.  And  I  wept  much,  because  no  man  was  found 
worthy  to  open  and  to  read  the  book,  neither  to  look  thereon." 

(3)  The  triumph  of  the  Lamb:  "And  one  of  the  elders  said 
unto  me.  Weep  not:  behold,  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
the  Root  of  David,  hath  prevailed  to  open  the  book,  and  to 
loose  the  seven  seals  thereof.  And  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  in  the 
midst  of  the  throne  and  the  four  beasts,  and  in  the  midst  of 
the  elders,  stood  a  Lamb  as  it  had  been  slain,  having  seven 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  131 

horns,  and  seven  eyes,  which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God 
sent  forth  into  all  the  earth.  And  he  came  and  took  the  book 
out  of  the  right  hand  of  him  that  sat  upon  the  throne." 

THE   QUADRATE 

(4)  The  worship  of  the  zoa  and  elders :  "And  when  he  had 
taken  the  book,  the  four  beasts  and  four  and  twenty  elders 
fell  down  before  the  Lamb,  having  every  one  of  them  harps, 
and  golden  vials  full  of  odors,  which  are  the  prayers  of  saints. 
And  they  sang  a  new  song,  saying,  Thou  art  worthy  to  take 
the  book,  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain, 
and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood,  out  of  every 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation ;  and  hast  made  us 
unto  our  God  kings  and  priests :  and  we  shall  reign  on  the 
earth." 

(5)  The  worship  of  the  angels:  "And  I  beheld,  and  heard 
the  voice  of  many  angels  round  about  the  throne  and  the 
beasts  and  the  elders:  and  the  number  of  them  was  ten  thou- 
sand times  ten  thousand,  and  thousands  of  thousands ;  saying 
with  a  loud  voice.  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive 
power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and 
glory,  and  blessing." 

(6)  The  worship  of  universal  sentient  being:  "And  every 
creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth,  and  such  as  are 
in  the  sea,  and  all  that  are  in  them,  heard  I  saying.  Blessing, 
and  honor,  and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto  him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever." 

(7)  Final  action  of  zoa  and  elders:  "And  the  four  beasts 
said.  Amen.  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders  fell  down  and 
worshiped  him  that  liveth  forever  and  ever." 

The  Significance  of  the  Figures  of  This  Grouping 
The  Sealed  Book. — It  is  essential  to  our  study  that  each 
of  the  factors  that  compose  this  grouping  of  the  redemptorial 
scene  be  subjected  to  the  closest  kind  of  scrutiny  ere  we  pass 


132  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

forward  to  the  study  of  the  mysterious  content  of  this  sealed 
book  that  is  now  in  the  hand  of  the  Lamb,  and  before  whom 
in  his  victory  the  universal  creation  becomes  tumultuous  in 
its  joy.  This  book  is  the  second  mysterious  volume  of  this 
mighty  Apocalypse.  Its  structural  position,  as  well  as  the 
circumstances  attending  its  disclosure,  leave  no  room  for 
question  that  it  is  the  all-inclusive  ranking  volume  out  of 
whose  breaking  seals  will  develop  the  issues  of  time  and  eter- 
nity. It  is  extended  from  the  midst  of  this  chromatic  glory, 
by  the  hand  of  Omnipotence.  Beneath  it  are  the  flashing 
lightnings,  awful  voices,  and  roaring  thunders.  Terrible 
indeed  the  environment  of  this  book.  With  the  memory  of 
the  book  of  the  Christophany  fresh  before  him  what  a  treasure 
this  book,  thus  proffered,  must  have  seemed  to  the  wondering 
John !  Here  at  last  is  the  solution  of  all  mystery,  the  solvent 
of  all  doubt,  and  the  dispelling  of  all  fear.  It  will  flood  all 
the  dark  and  ominous  aspects  of  this  symbolism  with  light, 
and  perhaps  lift  the  glowering  shadows  from  human  life  for- 
ever. This  is  the  book  for  which  man,  groping  in  the  gloom 
of  the  midnight,  has  longed  for.  It  is  now  proffered  by  the 
hand  of  the  Eternal.  But  where  in  all  the  universe  is  there 
one  who  will  dare  venture  within  this  awful  court  of  the 
flaming  lightnings  and  take  it  from  this  omnipotent  Hand 
and  break  its  forbidding  seals  ?  The  mystic  thought  visualized 
in  this  sealed  book  is  as  profound  as  it  is  impressive.  All 
the  great  books  of  God  have  the  seven  seals  upon  them.  The 
symbol  thus  presents  the  fact  of  the  natural  impenetrability 
of  the  mysteries  of  the  universe.  Back  of  the  deep,  dark 
vault  of  the  midnight  there  is  a  book  whose  pages  are  illum- 
ined with  diamonds,  rubies,  and  sapphires,  but  the  seals  are 
upon  it;  no  one  yet  has  been  found  worthy  to  break  them. 
Under  our  feet  there  is  another  whose  leaves  were  written 
upon  and  pressed  together  during  the  vast  cycle  of  the  geo- 
logic ages ;  but  here,  too,  the  seals.  Look  where  you  will,  and 
you  may  behold  mysterious  characters,  that  have  been  penciled 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  133 

by  sunbeams  and  lightnings  or  spirit  fingers  which,  Hke  this 
ahnighty  Hand,  reach  out  from  the  invisible.  But  every- 
where the  unbroken  seal.  You  pick  a  flower  to  pieces,  admire 
the  symmetry  of  a  crystal,  or  unbraid  the  strands  of  a  ray 
of  light,  and  toy  with  their  secrets  until  you  begin  to  hope 
that  they  are  about  to  whisper  in  your  ear  the  mysteries  of 
eternity,  when  their  lips  close  tight,  holding  their  secrets  as 
impenetrable  as  these  of  the  book  now  lying  upon  this  ex- 
tended Hand.  God's  books  are  all  written  in  the  language  of 
eternity,  and  he  alone  can  disclose  to  us  their  transcendent 
meaning. 

The  Challenge. — A  strong  angel  now  takes  position  in 
the  presence  of  the  throne  and  challenges  the  universe  to 
produce  one  worthy  to  approach  this  ineffable  glory  and  take 
the  proffered  book  and  break  its  seven  seals. 

Who  is  this  angel  whose  distinguishing  features  are  loud- 
ness of  voice  and  power?  Why  should  these  attributes  be 
thrown  into  the  foreground  as  associated  with  his  personality? 
Is  he  simply  a  throne  attendant  selected  from  the  shining 
ranks  not  yet  disclosed,  or  is  there  a  closer  relation  between 
him  and  the  figure  now  at  the  threshold?  The  answer  must 
be  left  with  the  unfolding  symbolism. 

His  challenge  reverberates  through  three  worlds.  The  rev- 
elator  with  breathless  interest  listens  as  its  echoes  die  away. 
But  the  universe  is  mute.  "No  man  in  heaven,  nor  in  earth, 
neither  under  the  earth,  was  able  to  open  the  book,  neither 
to  look  thereon."  The  situation  whelms  the  wondering  seer. 
He  buries  his  face  in  his  hands  and  gives  way  to  an  agony  of 
grief.  Perhaps  he  associated  the  success  of  revelation  with 
that  of  redemption  itself.  If  so,  that  too  now  halts  in  the 
presence  of  the  sealed  book  and  the  flaming  lightnings  of  the 
throne.  He  looks  for  a  familiar  form  that  nowhere  appears 
upon  the  scene.  Where  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  whose  eyes 
were  like  these  flaming  lightnings,  who  held  the  seven  stars 
in  his  hand,  and  who  carried  the  keys  of  Hades  and  death  at 


134  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

his  girdle?  Has  he  also  failed  in  the  midst  of  this  universal 
failure?  Confronted  by  the  deep,  dark  mysteries  of  eternity, 
is  there  no  Christ  to  help?  Is  this  a  place  where  his  flaming 
feet  may  not  tread?  Have  the  stars  dropped  from  his  impo- 
tent hand?  Has  that  voice  that  sounded  as  the  rushing  of 
mighty  waters  also  been  hushed  in  this  oppressive  silence  that 
now  reigns  in  three  worlds,  save  the  lone  sobbing  of  the 
apostle's  grief?  A  sealed  book,  a  silent  God,  a  universe 
whelmed  with  the  consciousness  of  its  unworthiness,  and  no 
more  worlds  to  search— that  were  an  occasion  for  tears  of 
despair  and  universal  grief. 

Great  was  the  sorrow  that  shrouded  his  soul  when  the  cruci- 
fied Christ  lay  cold  and  still  in  Joseph's  tomb  and  his  despairing 
followers  were  saying  one  to  another,  "We  trusted  it  had  been 
he  that  should  have  redeemed  Israel."  Infinitely  greater 
is  the  gloom  which  now  oppresses  him.  Hopes  then  but 
clouded  for  the  moment  must  now,  in  this  signal  failure  of 
the  cross,  end  forever.  The  fact  is  simply  whelming.  The 
search  has  been  thorough.  No  one  has  been  found  worthy, 
and  there  are  no  more  worlds  to  search.  But  one  lone  point 
remains — the  throne.  The  exhausting  thus  of  all  worlds  tells 
us  by  implication  that  it  was  the  throne  itself  that  was  drawn 
upon  in  the  production  of  the  figure  that  now  appears  upon 
the  scene,  thus  presenting  an  incidental,  though  occult,  proof 
of  the  throned  presence  of  the  Son  in  the  symbolism  of  the 
Theophany.  It  is  significant  that  it  is  not  the  voice  of  this 
challenging  angel  that  now  breaks  in  upon  the  sobbing  apos- 
tle's grief,  but  that  of  one  of  the  throned  elders.  Not  worthy 
himself  to  take  the  book,  yet  he  is  strangely  within  the  divine 
secret,  that  the  mighty  Victor  is  even  now  at  the  threshold. 
While  the  eyes  of  John  have  been  suffused  with  tears  he  has 
taken  position  in  the  presence  of  the  throne.  And  he  is  bid 
to  look,  in  the  words,  "Weep  not.  Behold,  the  Lion  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  the  Root  of  David,  hath  prevailed  to  open 
the  book,  and  to  loose  the  seals  thereof."     And  in  obedience 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  135 

he  brushes  his  tears  away  and  looks  to  see  this  victorious 
Lion  and  beholds — a  Lamb,  within  the  circle  of  the  zoa  and  the 
elders,  standing  before  the  throne,  as  it  had  been  slain.  Blood 
is  streaming  from  wounds  that  attest  its  sacrificial  death.  It 
is  the  Lamb  of  God,  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
and  whose  vicarious  atonement  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world. 

The  Triumph  of  the  Lamb. — The  glorious  truth  an- 
nounced by  the  Baptist  upon  the  banks  of  the  Jordan  is  here 
presented  in  the  cast  of  mysticism  in  a  way  which  powerfully 
emphasizes  the  trinitarian  principle.  In  the  creational  scene 
all  interest  centers  at  the  throne,  every  factor  being  adjusted 
so  as  to  intensify  the  glory  of  the  Creator.  In  the  scene  now 
before  us  this  interest,  intensified,  is  all  transferred  to  the 
person  of  the  Lamb  in  the  very  presence  of  the  throne.  Not 
only  zoa  and  elders  prostrate  themselves  before  the  Lamb, 
but  a  hundred  millions  of  angels  break  in  with  a  chorus  which 
is  caught  upon  the  lips  of  unnumbered  millions  more,  while 
the  quadrate  of  sentient  being  joins  in  the  refrain,  the  whole 
sublime  picture  in  its  correlate  associations  presenting  truths 
that  should  utterly  confound  Arianism  and  cover  it  with 
confusion  and  shame. 

Attention  must  now  be  directed  to  the  striking  contrast 
exhibited  by  this  figure  of  the  Lamb  in  these  tokens  of  his 
passion,  as  it  is  held  over  against  that  which  flamed  in  the 
glory  of  the  Christophany.  The  same  cast  of  trinitarian  truth 
appears,  but  with  a  most  impressive  change  in  its  character- 
istic expression.  The  Christophanic  figure  was  dignified  with 
the  snowy  crown  of  the  Eternal,  while  the  sharp  two-edged 
Sword  flashed  from  its  lips.  Here  the  crown  gives  place  to  a 
symbol  which  certifies  the  presence  of  omnipotent  power,  while 
in  the  same  manner  the  symbol  of  the  sword  gives  place  to  that 
of  the  seven  eyes,  thus  certifying  the  fact  of  the  mysterious 
coalescence  of  the  eternal  Spirit  in  this  figure  of  the  bleeding 
Lamb.     The  symbols  in  both  cases  have  respect  to  the  office 


136  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

to  be  exercised   and   the  character  of  the  symboHsm  to  be 
developed. 

In  the  development  of  the  paraphernalia  of  the  creational 
scene  the  figure  of  the  seven  lamps,  or,  as  interpreted,  seven 
Spirits,  takes  subordinate  position,  in  harmony  with  the  facts 
of  the  biblical  record.  In  the  redemptorial  scene,  now  before 
us,  the  Son  also,  in  his  office  of  Redeemer,  takes  the  same 
position  before  the  throne,  and  yet  with  such  a  reflection  of 
Deity  in  the  lines  of  his  mystic  personality  as  to  deepen  the 
mystery  of  the  Kenosis,  by  thus  showing  visually  that  in  him 
in  reality  dwelt  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.  This 
changed  phase  in  the  expression  of  trinitarian  truth  in  the 
Theophany  should  fully  prepare  us  for  one  more  change, 
equally  significant  and  impressive,  when  we  shall  meet  with 
the  symbolism  of  the  Pneumatophany. 

How  the  sight  of  this  figure  of  the  Lamb  must  have  ravished 
the  soul  of  John !  Three  worlds  may  have  been  vainly  searched 
for  a  Redeemer,  but  contrite  tears  have  clarified  his  vision 
to  behold  him  standing  for  him  in  the  presence  of  the  light- 
nings and  thunders  of  the  throne.  Tears  need  no  longer  wet 
your  cheeks  or  dim  your  vision;  his  hand  shall  wipe  them  all 
away! 

The  Lamb  now  advances  and  takes  the  book  that  is  ex- 
tended from  the  throne,  and  as  he  stands  with  it  in  his 
possession  the  whole  universe  goes  wild  with  joy,  and,  with 
tumultuous  fervor  that  far  exceeds  that  which  characterized 
the  creational  scene,  transfers  its  worship  to  him  in  the  very 
presence  of  the  throne.  Let  those  who  deny  the  divinity  of 
Christ  explain  it  if  they  can. 

The  Concerted  Worship  of  the  Zoa  and  the  Elders. — 
First  in  order  the  zoa  fall  before  the  Lamb.  But,  as  in  the 
creational  scene,  their  worship  is  blended  with  that  of  the 
elders.  This  concerted  worship  forms  one  of  the  recurrent 
features  of  the  symbolism,  though  absent  from  both  the  Chris- 
tophany  and  Pneumatophany.     At  the  head  of  the  book  of 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  137 

the  Pneumatophany  the  elders  rise  to  governing  position  in 
its  symbohsm,  while  in  like  manner  the  zoa  discharge  their 
office  at  the  head  of  the  Trilogy,  both,  however,  joining  in 
concert  again  in  the  tumult  of  rejoicing  that  ensues  in  the 
presence  of  the  flames  of  burning  Babylon.  In  the  creational 
scene  they  cast  their  crowns  before  the  throne  as  they  pros- 
trate themselves  in  worship;  here  they  have  harps  and  golden 
vials  full  of  incense.  The  meaning  of  this  symbol  is  disclosed 
as  "the  prayers  of  the  saints."  Though  here  brought  to  view, 
it  has  no  office  to  perform  in  connection  with  this  redemptorial 
scene,  which  relates  solely  to  the  glorious  triumph  of  the 
Lamb.  Again,  the  content  of  the  vials  in  the  hand  of  the  zoa 
is  not  incense,  but  the  pent-up  wrath  of  God.  Both  sets  of 
vials  will  at  the  proper  structural  point  of  the  progressing 
panorama  perform  their  characteristic  office.  As  they  thus 
stand  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb,  with  the  sealed  book  in 
his  possession,  they  lead,  in  the  mighty  tumult  of  praise  which 
now  ensues,  with  the  strains  of  a  new  song.  It  is  the  voicing 
of  the  great  fact  of  the  triumph  of  Redemption  through  the 
vicarious  sacrifice  of  the  bleeding  Lamb.  The  exegetical 
value  of  this  factor  demands  that  most  careful  consideration 
be  given  to  it.  As  given  in  the  Authorized  Version  it  is : 
*'And  they  sang  a  new  song,  saying,  Thou  art  worthy  to  take 
the  book,  and  to  open  the  seals  thereof:  for  thou  wast  slain, 
and  hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every 
kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation ;  and  hast  made 
us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests :  and  we  shall  reign  on  the 
earth." 

The  point  in  question  touches  the  significance  of  this  figure 
whose  relation  to  the  Theophanic  symbolism  is  next  to  the 
throne.  The  position  assumed  with  respect  to  it  has  already 
been  intimated.  While,  Hke  its  associate  figure,  the  zoa,  it  is 
purely  mystic,  its  white  robe  covers  a  redeemed  humanity 
and  its  Stephanos  crowns  it.  This  fact,  obscured  in  the  ren- 
dering of  the  Revised  Version,  is  fully  sustained  by  correlate 


138  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

utterances.  Chapter  i,  paragraph  2,  whose  cast  is  unques- 
tionably Theophanic,  parallels  this  voicing  of  the  elders  in 
the  new  song  in  a  sense  which  fully  determines  the  fact  that 
it  proceeds  from  a  redeemed  humanity.  Passing  forward,  by 
way  of  anticipation,  to  the  Mount  Sion  scene,  where  this  figure 
of  the  Lamb  is  introduced  into  the  book  of  the  Pneumatoph- 
any,  we  hear  it  again,  upon  the  lips  of  the  hundred  and  forty- 
four  thousand  who  were  redeemed  from  the  earth,  and  where 
the  statement  is  made  that  only  those  thus  redeemed  could 
sing  it.  The  coincidence  of  utterance  must  be  conceded  as 
determining  the  fact.  The  royal  priesthood  and  the  coming 
of  the  kingdom  are  both  assured  in  the  triumph  of  the  Lamb. 
This  figure,  like  that  of  the  seven  Spirits,  must  also  be  meta- 
morphic,  for,  like  it,  at  a  certain  point  it  must  transform  or 
vanish  from  the  symbolism,  which  can  hardly  be  conceivable 
of  a  figure  of  such  dignity  as  this  unless  in  its  passing  the 
mystery  of  its  office  is  explained. 

The  Worship  of  the  Angels. — Myriads  of  myriads  and 
chiHads  of  chiliads  of  angels  add  their  complement  of  worship 
to  the  victorious  Lamb.  Majestic  and  beautiful  are  the  rever- 
berations of  the  refrain  that  rises  and  swells  upon  the  lips 
of  these  sons  of  the  morning.  Like  the  onrushing  waves  of 
the  sea,  or  the  deep-toned  voice  of  the  thunder,  its  billowy 
roll  dashes  at  the  feet  of  the  Lamb :  ''Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain,  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and 
strength,  and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing,"  its  accentuated 
sevenfold  volume  bespeaking  the  perfected  character  of 
angelic  praise. 

The  Worship  of  Universal  Sentient  Being. — The 
chorus  now  swings  back  from  these  groupings  of  myriads 
and  chiliads  to  the  individual.  Every  creature  dwelling  in 
these  three  worlds  that  were  vainly  searched  for  a  Redeemer, 
and  those  in  the  additional  world  of  the  great  waters,  now 
adds  its  voice  to  swell  the  chorus,  including  Him  that  sitteth 
upon  the  throne  with  the  Lamb  in  equal  glory.     A  question 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  139 

which  may  appear  to  be  a  little  too  profound  to  be  discussed 
at  this  point  of  our  study  arises  in  the  fact  of  the  apparent 
differentiation  of  this  grouping  of  the  quadrate  from  that  of 
the  zoa.  This  feature  will  clear  as  we  find  the  correlate 
adjustment  of  each  of  these  exponential  groupings. 

The  Final  Voicing  of  the  Elders  and  Zoa. — Whether 
this  celestial  music  is  antiphonal,  successional,  or  an  expanding 
volume  of  praise,  may  not  signify.  The  great  fact  that  stands 
out  in  the  clear  is  that  it  is  sufficient  to  convict  every  created 
being  in  the  universe  of  gross  idolatry  if  absolute  divinity  be 
denied  to  this  redemptorial  figure  of  the  Lamb. 

This  quadrate  of  worship,  in  its  beginning  and  ending  with 
the  same  factors  of  the  grouping  and  in  its  backward  swing 
to  the  throne,  condenses  here  in  epitome  the  great  generics 
of  the  book.  The  first  two  factors  of  the  quadrate  present 
their  worship  solely  to  the  Lamb;  the  last  two  return  to  the 
throne — universal  creation  according  equal  glory  to  Him  that 
sitteth  on  the  throne  and  to  the  Lamb,  while  its  terminal 
expression  recognizes  only  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  but 
with  whom  it  blends  the  Alpha  and  Omega  in  the  final  scene. 

Again,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  chant  of  the  angels 
begins  with  the  last  word  in  the  creational  voicing  of  the 
elders,  while  creation  itself  takes  up  the  last  words  in  this 
sevenfold  chorus  of  the  angels,  ending  with  its  initial.  This 
verbal  continuity  thus  completes  another  mystic  circle  akin 
to  that  which  pours  its  emerald  glory  over  this  celestial  plane 
of  the  Theophany.  In  the  finality  of  the  symbolism  this  utter- 
ance of  the  elders  and  the  zoa  becomes  simply  an  Amen  and 
an  Alleluia. 

Special  attention  should  be  given,  in  passing,  to  the  expan- 
sion of  the  governing  numeric  principle  in  this  second  expo- 
nential phase  of  the  Theophany.  In  its  first  phase  the  triad  is 
dominant:  there  are  three  colors,  three  emanations  from  the 
throne,  the  trisagion  of  the  zoa  and  its  reflex  in  the  utterance 
of  the  elders.     Its  augmentation  in  the   redemptorial  scene, 


140  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

thus  rounding  out  a  verbal  seven  within  the  Hues  of  these 
exponential  headlands  and  by  means  of  this  structural  law, 
determines  their  character  and  coordination.  Not  least  among 
the  suggestions  given  is  that  with  respect  to  the  change  which 
occurs  in  regard  to  the  word  "power."  In  the  creational 
scene  it  is  dynamis,  which  in  the  redemptorial  scene  becomes 
kratos,  a  word  which  adds  to  the  thought  of  power  that  of 
dominion. 

While  facts  such  as  these  reveal  the  complex  character 
and  most  delicate  tracery  of  the  apocalyptic  symbolism,  they 
also  assure  us  of  the  existence  of  a  structural  plan  the  mastery 
of  which  must  put  in  our  hands  the  key  that  will  unlock  its 
more  mysterious  phases. 

The  Book  of  the  Theophany — The  Opening  of  Its  Seals 
This  book  of  the  seven  seals  is  the  ranking  volume  of  the 
Apocalypse.  It  comes  forth  from  the  hand  of  the  invisible 
God.  It  is  recognized  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the  book  as 
''The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  God  gave  unto  him 
to  show  unto  his  servants  things  which  must  shortly  come  to 
pass,"  and  which  "he  sent  and  signified  by  his  angel  unto  his 
servant  John."  The  angel  was  a  component  part  of  the  Chris- 
tophany.  He  is  also  here  as  the  Seven  Eyes,  a  component  part 
of  the  figure  that  breaks  these  mysterious  seals. 

We  would  naturally  expect  that  a  book  that  was  written 
"within"  when  opened  would  place  its  writing  before  us.  It 
does.  But  it  is  in  the  same  involved  hieroglyph  that  has 
already  passed  before  us  upon  the  unfolding  scroll.  In  the 
book  of  the  Christophany  the  triad  leads.  Here  it  is  the 
quadrate.  Four  mysterious  horsemen  in  succession  ride  forth 
from  the  breaking  seals  into  the  arena  of  action,  which  are 
followed  by  a  shadowy  figure  that  has  no  mount.  Two  seals 
only  of  the  triad  break,  and  there  is  a  significant  pause.  The 
first  of  these  seals  lifts  the  veil  of  the  unseen  to  disclose  a  great 
altar  underneath  which  are  the  souls  of  the  martyred  dead. 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  141 

The  breaking  of  the  second  is  followed  by  a  great  earthquake 
and  a  series  of  terrific  scenes  which  end  in  the  great  day  of 
the  wrath  of  the  Lamb.  Following  this  awful  scenery  there  is 
a  readjustment  of  the  staging  and  the  introduction  of  a  paren- 
thetic section  which  will  be  designated  as  the  Contrastive 
Counterpart.    We  may  now  proceed  with  the  text  itself. 

THE   QUADRATE 

"And  I  saw  when  the  Lamb  opened  one  of  the  seven  seals, 
and  I  heard  one  of  the  four  living  creatures  saying  as  with  a 
voice  of  thunder,  Come." 

The  white  horseman:  "And  I  saw,  and  behold,  a  white 
horse,  and  he  that  sat  thereon  had  a  bow ;  and  there  was  given 
unto  him  a  crown:  and  he  came  forth  conquering,  and  to 
conquer. 

"And  when  he  opened  the  second  seal,  I  heard  the  second 
living  creature  saying,  Come." 

The  red  horseman:  "And  another  horse  came  forth,  a  red 
horse ;  and  to  him  that  sat  thereon  it  was  given  to  take  peace 
from  the  earth,  and  that  they  should  slay  one  another:  and 
there  was  given  unto  him  a  great  sword. 

"And  when  he  opened  the  third  seal,  I  heard  the  third  living 
creature  saying.  Come." 

The  black  horseman :  "And  I  saw,  and  behold,  a  black  horse  ; 
and  he  that  sat  thereon  had  a  balance  in  his  hand.  And  I 
heard  as  it  were  a  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  four  living 
creatures  saying,  A  measure  of  wheat  for  a  penny,  and  three 
measures  of  barley  for  a  penny ;  and  the  oil  and  the  wine  hurt 
thou  not. 

"And  when  he  opened  the  fourth  seal,  I  heard  the  voice 
of  the  fourth  living  creature  saying,  Come." 

The  pale  horseman:  "And  I  saw,  and  behold,  a  pale  horse: 
and  he  that  sat  upon  him,  his  name  was  Death ;  and  Hades  fol- 
lowed with  him.  And  there  was  given  unto  them  authority 
over  the  fourth  part  of  the  earth,  to  kill  with  the  sword,  and 


142  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

with  famine,  and  with  death,  and  by  the  wild  beasts  of  the 
earth." 

the  triad 

The  souls  underneath  the  altar:  ''And  when  he  opened  the 
fifth  seal,  I  saw  underneath  the  altar  the  souls  of  them  that 
had  been  slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony 
which  they  held:  and  they  cried  with  a  great  voice,  saying. 
How  long,  O  Master,  the  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge 
and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?  And 
there  was  given  them  to  each  one  a  white  robe;  and  it  was 
said  unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  time, 
until  their  fellow  servants  also  and  their  brethren,  which 
should  be  killed  even  as  they  were,  should  be  fulfilled."  In  the 
Trilogy  this  altar  voice  will  confess  the  justice  of  God. 

The  Great  Earthquake 
The  importance  of  this  sixth  seal  will  appear  in  the  fact 
that  it  not  only  relates  to  this  great  earthquake  but  also  to  a 
series  of  symbols  which  group  themselves  into  a  full  apoc- 
alyptic seven. 

( 1 )  The  great  earthquake :  ''And  I  saw  when  he  had  opened 
the  sixth  seal,  and  there  was  a  great  earthquake." 

(2)  The  total  eclipse  of  the  sun :  "And  the  sun  became 
black  as  sackcloth  of  hair." 

(3)  The  crimson  moon:  "And  the  whole  moon  became 
as  blood." 

(4)  The  falling  stars:  "And  the  stars  of  the  heaven  fell 
unto  the  earth  as  a  fig  tree  casteth  her  unripe  figs,  when  she 
is  shaken  of  a  great  wind." 

(5)  The  vanishing  heavens:  "And  the  heaven  was  removed 
as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled  up." 

(6)  The  vanishing  mountains  and  islands:  "And  every 
mountain  and  island  were  moved  out  of  their  places." 

This  final  factor  also  presents  a  sub-seven  of  humanity. 

(7)  The  great  day  of  the  wrath  of  God  and  the  Lamb: 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  143 

"And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  princes,  and  the  chief 
captains,  and  the  rich,  and  the  strong,  and  every  bondman 
and  freeman,  hid  themselves  in  the  caves  and  in  the  rocks  of 
the  mountains ;  and  they  say  to  the  mountains  and  to  the  rocks, 
Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  on 
the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb;  for  the  great 
day  of  their  wrath  is  come ;  and  who  is  able  to  stand  ?" 

What  is  the  significance  of  the  imagery  here  projected? 
Does  it  characterize,  as  the  expositors  so  generally  hold,  some 
episode  or  era  in  the  progress  of  the  Christian  age?  Is  this 
white  horseman  some  militant  Charlemagne  or  Napoleon, 
whose  incursion  is  followed  by  carnage,  famine,  and  pesti- 
lence, or  is  it  rather  that  we  have  in  these  symbols  the  sequent 
and  orderly  expansion  of  the  great  generics  of  ontological 
truth?  The  answer  to  be  given  in  these  pages  is  emphatically 
the  latter.  As  forecast  in  the  exponential  voicings  already 
considered,  the  great  drama  will  be  presented  in  double  phase 
of  antithetic  characterization.  On  the  one  side  we  have  first 
this  quadrate  cavalcade  of  destruction ;  thence  the  lifting  of 
the  veil  of  the  unseen,  disclosing  the  spirits  of  the  martyr 
dead.  The  extended  scope  of  the  grouping  which  follows 
is  indicated  in  its  numeric  expression.  It  presents  scenes  of 
cosmic  terror,  beginning  with  a  great  earthquake,  then  extend- 
ing to  the  luminaries  of  heaven,  and  ending  in  the  vanishing 
of  the  material  frame  and  a  great  day  of  the  divine  wrath 
before  whose  terrific  flamings  a  sinful  world  will  be  appalled. 
Pausing  here,  antithetic  imagery  is  thrown  upon  the  scroll, 
whose  scope  is  without  a  doubt  governed  by  the  same  delim- 
iting lines. 

The  White  Horseman 

What  is  the  significance  of  this  figure  which  first  rides  forth 
of  these  breaking  seals,  and  his  mount?  The  importance  of 
the  symbol  of  the  horse  appears  in  the  fact  that  it  is  one  of 
the  generics  of  the  book.     It  is  here  quadrate  as  it  emerges 


144  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

from  the  seals.  It  will  emerge  from  the  bottomless  pit  as  a 
numberless  host  with  locust  wing  and  scorpion  sting,  the  in- 
fernal cavalcade  of  Apollyon.  Again,  it  rises  from  the  great 
Euphrates,  with  lion  head  and  serpent  tail,  a  vast  host  of  two 
hundred  millions.  Finally,  it  appears  upon  the  great  field 
or  Armageddon,  as  it  here  comes  forth  from  the  seal,  with  a 
rider  whose  garm.ents  are  sprinkled  with  blood,  who  is  crowned 
with  many  diadems,  and  who  is  followed  by  the  white-robed 
cavalcade  of  all  the  armies  of  heaven,  and  which  makes  the 
final  victorious  battle-charge  on  this  great  crisal  field.  The 
rider  in  this  latter  case  is  unquestionably  Christ,  which  fact 
has  led  some  expositors,  among  whom  is  Alford,  to  identify 
him  here.  As  the  ranking  figure  of  this  grouping  he  comes 
forth  with  his  long  bow,  conquering  and  to  conquer.  He 
receives  his  crown,  and  passes  from  sight,  without  leaving 
a  single  hieroglyph  to  tell  of  a  battle  fought  or  victory  won. 
The  latter  figure  is  therefore  supposed  to  be  the  complement 
of  the  former,  and  to  settle  the  question  of  identity.  But  they 
do  not  seem  to  be  impressed  with  the  fact  that  in  the  expan- 
sion of  the  figure,  in  the  white-robed  cavalcade  that  follows 
this  Leader,  the  question  of  identity  is  practically  settled.  In 
the  latter  case  it  is  the  grand  total  of  a  purified  humanity  that 
rides  this  mount.  This  fact,  in  harmony  with  the  law  of  this 
mystic  enunciation,  fairly  determines  the  case.  It  is  humanity 
as  it  comes  from  the  hand  of  God,  crowned  with  regal  dominion. 
When  we  contemplate  the  factors  and  forces  now  deployed 
upon  this  Theophanic  plane,  and  their  relativity  to  the  great 
tragedy  of  human  life,  it  would  seem  that  the  importance 
of  man  himself,  as  the  factor  in  whom  all  interest  is  central- 
ized, demands  for  him  a  corresponding  characteristic  intro- 
duction into  the  arena  of  action.  At  the  head  of  this  series 
of  the  breaking  seals  we  have  it.  He  comes  forth  at  the 
command  of  the  first  one  of  the  zoa,  but  it  will  be  observed 
that  he  speaks  with  the  voice  of  thunder.  Mysticism  here 
expresses    fundamental    truth.      The    throne    of    God    speaks 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  145 

through  the  zoon.  The  Eternal  stoops  and  kisses  the  dust, 
and  it  looks  up  and  calls  him  Father. 

The  cavalcade  that  follows  in  the  wake  of  the  white  horse- 
man— red,  black,  and  pale — are  all  great  generics.  War,  fam- 
ine, and  pestilence  (Grotius,  and  others)  disclose  their  char- 
acter and  office  so  manifestly  in  these  figures  as  to  lead  to 
practical  agreement  among  the  critics  with  respect  to  their 
meaning.  They  are  the  malign  or  destructive  forces  which 
ride  forth  into  the  arena,  as  the  sequence  of  man's  fall,  through 
these  opening  gates  of  ontology.  Each  one  as  he  rides  into 
the  field  is  an  intensified  terror,  the  last  one  the  king  of 
terrors,  and  the  last  enemy  that  will  be  conquered  on  this 
terrific  field.  Dr.  Whedon  and  others  clearly  see  here  the 
characterization  of  these  destructive  forces,  but  are  embar- 
rassed by  what  they  conceive  to  be  the  incongruous  character 
of  the  white  horseman.  They  mistake.  There  is  no  incon- 
gruity. Man  as  a  destructive  force  in  the  arena  of  this  earth 
is  not  surpassed.  His  first  act  was  to  darken  the  heavens, 
blight  the  earth,  and  destroy  himself.  That  he  comes  forth 
armed  determines  his  superiority  in  the  arena  of  action.  The 
Stephanos  that  is  placed  upon  his  head,  the  signet  which 
connects  him  mystically  with  the  elders,  is  significant  of  the 
dominion  which  was  divinely  conferred  upon  him  by  his 
Creator.  He  comes  forth  conquering — that  is  his  destiny — 
and  to  conquer.  The  repetition  of  the  term  is  significant.  Two 
great  realms  are  already  opened  before  us  in  the  exponential 
headlands,  the  natural  and  the  spiritual,  and  he  is  destined  to 
conquer  upon  both  these  hotly  contested  fields.  Humanity, 
as  under  the  lead  of  the  first  Adam,  met  with  disastrous  de- 
feat ;  but  under  the  lead  of  the  second  we  shall  see  this  white 
charger  riding  forward  to  glorious  victory.  The  symbol  thus 
speaks  with  consistency,  beauty,  and  power. 

To  the  crimson  equestrian  there  was  given  a  great  sword, 
that  he  should  take  peace  from  the  earth,  and  to  set  men 
slaying  one  another.     The  implication  here  is  plain  that  ere 


146  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

he  came  forth  there  was  peace  on  earth,  a  fact  which  throws 
this  figure  backward  to  the  opening  gates  of  history. 

The  figure  mounted  upon  the  black  horse  comes  forth  with 
a  pair  of  balances  in  his  hand.  He  is  not  portentous  of  some 
local  famine,  but  of  the  great  economic  fact  that  the  curse 
that  falls  over  the  material  realm  would  entail  scarcity  of 
commodities  until  that  hour  when,  in  the  restitution  of  all 
things,  the  divine  Voice  would  proclaim,  "There  shall  be  no 
more  curse."  It  is  to  be  noted  that  it  is  not  a  voice  from 
the  throne,  but  one  from  the  midst  of  the  zoa,  that  proclaims 
this  scarcity.  It  is  nature  that  withholds.  The  chenix  of 
wheat  and  the  three  of  barley,  always  more  barley  than  wheat, 
will  be  doled  out  for  the  penny,  if  it  is  paid ;  if  not,  this,  the 
greatest  magnate  of  all  the  trusts,  will  let  the  world  starve. 
But  he  was  restrained  from  hurting  the  oil  and  the  wine. 
He  was  not  to  deprive  the  rich  of  their  luxuries.  It  need 
not  be  said  that  he  has  faithfully  fulfilled  his  office  in  every 
age  of  the  world.  Earth's  millions  have  always  been  under- 
fed, vast  multitudes  literally  starving,  while  the  rich  have 
always  regaled  themselves  with  their  luxuries.  The  antithesis 
of  this  situation  will  appear  in  the  counterpart,  where  it  is 
said,  "And  they  shall  hunger  no  more,"  etc. 

The  figure  that  rides  upon  the  pale  horse  is  the  only  one 
of  this  cavalcade  that  is  named ;  and  it  is  a  name  from  which 
universal  humanity  starts  back  in  terror — Death.  He  has 
no  crown,  bow,  nor  sword.  He  needs  them  not.  The  touch 
of  his  icy  fingers  is  sufficient.  No  balances  are  in  his  hand. 
He  has  nothing  to  sell  or  to  give.  He  comes  to  take.  He  is 
no  respecter  of  persons.  At  his  touch  the  chenix  of  wheat  or 
barley  falls  from  the  hand  of  the  poor,  and  the  chalice  of 
luxury  from  that  of  the  rich.  The  king  on  his  throne,  like 
the  prisoner  in  the  dungeon,  must  bow  in  submission  to  his 
stroke. 

We  have  in  this  fourth  seal  a  striking  instance  of  the  asso- 
ciation of  distinct  figures  in  one  grouping.    The  Lamb  and  the 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  147 

seven  Spirits,  the  zoa  and  the  elders,  the  beast  and  the  false 
prophet,  as  well  as  other  figures  not  necessary  to  name,  are 
thus  frequently  given  this  numeric  association.  With  respect 
to  the  case  before  us,  it  holds  throughout  the  book.  In  the 
Christophany  the  keys  of  Hades  and  of  Death  hang  at  the 
girdle  of  the  Alpha  and  Omega.  Here  Hades  is  the  ghostly 
follower  in  the  wake  of  the  King  of  Terrors  as  he  rides  into 
the  field  of  action.  With  him  it  will  disappear  in  the  lake  of 
eternal  burnings.  It  will  be  observed  that  Hades  has  no 
mount.  This  fact  may  not  be  without  its  significance,  rele- 
vant to  the  limitations  of  the  physical  realm.  Power  was 
given  to  them  over  the  fourth  part  of  the  earth,  to  kill  with 
the  sword  and  with  famine,  with  pestilence  and  with  the  beasts 
of  the  earth.  This  statement,  while  it  forms  a  commentary 
upon  the  three  figures  introduced,  yet  raises  a  question  with 
respect  to  the  significance  of  its  final  phrase.  War  and  fam- 
ine are  agencies  of  unnatural  death,  while  the  meaning  of  the 
third  seems  to  be  that  of  natural  death.  But,  as  Hades  is  also 
associated  with  death  in  the  recipiency  of  this  power,  there  is 
a  possibility  that  the  death  here  associated  with  the  beasts  of 
the  earth  may  relate  to  the  frightful  career  of  the  beasts  that 
will  later  appear  upon  this  apocalyptic  scroll,  though  the 
symbols  here  employed  may  be  simply  meant  to  square  with 
the  facts  of  thanatology.  We  now  pass  from  the  realm  of  the 
quadrate  to  that  of  the  triad. 

As  though  Hades  follows  Death  to  lift  the  veil  from  the 
world  of  the  unseen,  we  are  now  permitted  to  look  upon  a  vast 
throng  who  have  tasted  death  and  passed  beyond  his  power 

forever. 

The  Great  Altar 

"And  I  saw  under  the  altar  the  souls  of  them  that  were 
slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  testimony  which  they 
held."  The  vision  is  that  of  the  martyred  dead,  who  died  for 
their  adherence  to  the  right;  not  slumbering  unconsciously 
in  their  graves,  but  living  and  active  and  in  communion  with 


148  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  throne.  Granted  that  we  are  here  looking  upon  symbol; 
yet  the  symbol  but  veils  the  reality  here,  as  it  does  behind 
the  chromatic  glory  of  the  throne  or  the  figure  of  the  Lamb. 

These  heroic  spirits  have  reached  the  blessed  shores  of 
immortality.  Their  slain  and  mutilated  bodies  may  be  lying 
in  nameless  graves,  or  in  the  cavernous  depths  of  the  sea,  or 
upon  Alpine  summits  cold ;  their  bones  may  mark  many  a  hotly 
contested  battlefield,  where  they  fell  for  God  and  the  right; 
but  they  are  not  dead,  nor  waiting  for  the  resurrection  trump 
to  arouse  them  from  the  silence  of  the  sepulcher.  They  are 
alive  and  active,  and  well  informed  as  to  what  is  transpiring 
on  the  earth.  They  watch  with  keen  interest  the  progress  of 
the  mighty  conflict  in  which  they  fell.  That  they  seem  to 
grow  impatient  before  the  battle  ends  might  be  construed 
as  a  reflection  of  the  fact  that  they  are  still  human  in  their 
eagerness  to  behold  the  final  triumph  of  the  right  and  the  met- 
ing out  of  justice  to  them  that  trampled  them  down.  But 
the  thought  that  evidently  lies  back  of  their  cry  of  ''How 
long,  O  Lord,  how  long?"  is  that  the  mighty  conflict  will 
appear  so  long  drawn  out  that  even  heaven  itself  will,  in 
this  mystic  sense,  seem  to  grow  impatient  and  to  plead  for  its 
termination.  The  cry  of  the  martyred  dead  touches  one  of 
the  mysteries  of  the  divine  administration  that  has  perplexed 
the  ages.  At  the  gates  of  Eden  Abel's  blood  cried  out  from 
the  ground  against  the  murderer  roaming  free.  God  was 
not  inattentive  then,  and  he  is  not  now.  As  the  centuries 
rolled  onward  it  must  have  seemed  long  to  this  protomartyr, 
as  he  waited  under  this  bloody  altar.  As  prophets,  saints, 
and  heroes,  of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy,  took  their 
place  by  his  side,  a  continuous  stream  oi  martyr-spirits,  who 
were  stoned,  sawn  asunder,  and  killed  with  the  sword,  this 
altar  must  have  looked  questioningly  toward  the  throne.  But 
the  battle  waxes  hotter  still.  One  day  the  heavens  grew 
black,  and  the  earth  trembled,  and  then  there  came  One  to  join 
their  ranks  who  bore  on  his  brow  the  marks  of  a  crown  of 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  149 

thorns,  and  in  his  hands  and  feet  the  print  of  nails,  and  of  a 
spear  thrust  in  his  side,  and  still  the  lightnings  and  thunders 
of  the  throne  are  restrained.  And  then  the  great  altar  began 
to  grow  a  deeper  crimson  with  the  blood  of  the  slain,  as  those 
who  followed  him  fell  beneath  it  in  the  rising  fury  of  the 
sulphuric  storm.  Unnumbered  millions  of  them  came  from 
the  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth,  from  crosses  of  Roman  hate 
and  from  the  flames  of  antichristian  fury;  from  arenas  where 
they  faced  the  glaring  eyeballs  of  the  ferocious  beasts  within, 
and  listened  to  the  exultant  shouts  of  the  more  ferocious 
beasts  without;  from  subterranean  dungeons,  where  no  pity- 
ing eye  could  look  upon  their  agony,  or  hear  their  moan,  as 
they  were  tortured  by  the  racks,  thumbscrews,  and  red-hot 
pincers  of  the  pitiless  Holy  Roman  Inquisition.  Is  Divine 
Justice  inattentive  to  their  cry?  Does  retribution  sleep  for- 
ever? No;  not  forever.  God  standeth  within  the  shadows, 
keeping  watch  above  his  own.  Here  indeed  is  the  patience 
of  the  saints;  here  are  they  that  keep  the  commandments  of 
God  and  the  faith  of  Jesus. 

The  answer  of  the  throne  to  their  cry  is  significant,  pro- 
foundly so,  with  respect  to  the  structural  adjustment  of  the 
lines  of  this  symbolism.  "And  white  robes  were  given  to  every 
one  of  them;  and  it  was  said  unto  them,  that  they  should 
rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  till  their  fellow  servants,  and  their 
brethren,  which  should  be  slain  as  they  were,  should  be  ful- 
filled." The  gift  of  this  white  robe  and  the  sequent  little  season 
of  waiting  fix  within  the  lines  of  the  Theophany  the  structural 
position  of  two  most  important  factors  of  the  symbolism: 
the  triumph  of  the  atonement  and  the  sequent  period  of  the 
loosing  of  Satan. 

As  we  study  the  teaching  points  of  these  figures  that  have 
been  evoked  from  these  breaking  seals  we  can  but  be  struck 
with  the  fact,  with  respect  to  the  quadrate,  at  least,  as  inter- 
preted, that  they  are  all  clearly  great  generics  of  the  pano- 
rama.   A  little  attention  to  the  Involutions  of  this  altar  scene 


150  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

will  disclose  the  fact  that  its  scope  is  equally  as  broad.  It 
separates  into  two  grand  divisions  the  martyrs  that  fall  and 
that  are  to  fall,  the  divisional  point  being  strikingly  punctu- 
ated by  the  giving  of  these  white  robes,  sequent  to  which 
another  period  of  martyrdom  would  ensue  which  is  here  des- 
ignated as  a  "little  season."  They  were  to  patiently  wait 
until  its  end  and  for  the  coming  of  the  last  martyr  to  join 
their  ranks,  the  implication  being  that  then  their  blood  would 
be  avenged.  The  age  of  martyrdom  is  thus  shown  to  reach 
up  to  the  end  of  the  struggle.  Again,  the  giving  of  the  white 
robe,  as  in  answer  to  this  cry  for  justice,  is  not  to  be  regarded 
as  the  giving  of  a  toy  to  an  impatient  child  to  keep  it  quiet. 
It  is  an  act  that  touches  the  heart-core  of  the  book.  It  is  the 
mystic  announcement  of  the  triumph  of  the  cross,  and  its 
bestowment  upon  these  waiting  martyr  spirits  is  the  signum 
in  heaven  of  its  victory;  for  until  the  atoning  blood  was  in 
reality  shed  the  white  robe  could  not  be  given.  Receiving  it, 
and  the  assurance  it  gives,  they  can  afiford  to  wait  for  the 
end.  Looking  forward  from  this  standpoint  of  the  giving 
of  the  robe,  the  whole  period  that  ensues  up  to  the  point  of 
vengeance  is  designated  as  this  "little  season."  We  shall 
meet  this  factor  repeatedly  as  the  different  phases  of  the 
symbolism  develop.  In  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  it  is 
the  "short  time"  of  Satan's  great  rage,  and  in  the  trilogy  the 
"little  season"  of  his  loosing.  The  correlation  being  estab- 
lished in  every  case,  our  eyes  must  be  dull  indeed  not  to  grasp 
the  significance  of  the  figure. 

The  Great  Earthquake 
What  is  the  scope  of  the  issues  presented  in  the  sixth  seal? 
The  answer  to  this  question  is  of  vital  importance  in  the  expo- 
sition of  the  Apocalypse.  Is  it  simply  episodal,  characteristic 
of  physical  phenomena  that  will  be  associated  with  the  end  of 
time,  or  is  it  a  fact  that  we  have  here  another  great  generic 
section   that   worthily   and   consistently   completes   this   seal- 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  151 

picture  of  what  is  and  shall  be?  That  all  of  its  conceptions 
are  presented  in  symbol  of  magnificent  proportions,  which 
takes  the  full  range  of  an  apocalyptic  seven,  can  hardly  fail 
of  impressing  the  dullest  mind.  Its  quadrate  characterizes 
calamity  upon  a  scale  that  can  hardly  be  surpassed  in  its 
power  of  expression,  drawing  one  of  its  factors  from  the 
earth  and  three  from  the  heavens. 

First  this  great  earthquake,  and  then  the  sun  in  the  heavens 
becomes  black  as  sackcloth  of  hair;  next,  the  moon  turns 
to  blood,  while  the  stars  are  swept  from  their  places  and  cast 
down  to  earth  as  the  unripe  fruit  falls  from  the  fig  tree 
when  it  is  shaken  of  a  mighty  zvind.  The  alert  reader  may 
possibly  be  impressed  here  with  the  fact  of  the  occult  intro- 
duction of  one  of  the  great  factors  of  the  book — a  wind  so 
mighty  as  to  hurl  the  stars  to  the  earth.  In  the  contrastive 
counterpart,  which  is  a  parenthetic  inclusion  of  this  sixth  seal, 
we  shall  see  this  zvind  taken  hold  of  and  thralled  by  the  four 
world  angels.  In  the  pouring  out  of  the  vials  it  will  be  the 
object  against  which  the  last  vial  will  be  discharged. 

Passing  now  to  the  triad,  we  see  the  heavens  depart  as  a 
scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together.  Next,  all  the  mountains  and 
islands  of  earth  are  moved  out  of  their  places.  The  punctu- 
ating figure  is  not  only  climacteric  in  the  highest  degree,  but 
it  is  clearly  seen  to  square  with  the  grand  retributive  finale 
of  the  book.  It  is  that  of  the  great  day  of  the  unveiled  face 
of  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  of  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb,  the  scene  presenting  a  sub-seven  in  which  humanity  is 
shown  in  its  adverse  relations  to  this  awful  day.  From  the 
fact  that  what  is  here  thrown  upon  the  screen  is  by  universal 
consent  associated  with  the  finalities  of  the  Judgment,  the 
whole  of  these  six  preceding  graphic  pictures  have  been  popu- 
larly construed  as  being  simply  the  mundane  and  celestial  phe- 
nomena associate  with  this  crisal  hour.  We  have  but  to 
recognize  the  significance  of  this  law  of  numeric  expression 
in  the  Apocalypse  to  have  our  minds  disabused  of  this  popular 


152  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

conception.  It  is  the  initial  factor  of  the  great  seven  which 
take  the  full  sweep  of  the  great  field  of  apocalyptic  truth. 
Having  been  introduced  here,  it  is  immediately  placed  in 
primal  exponential  position  as  the  factor  which,  as  added  to 
the  throne  voicings,  completes  the  quadrate,  which  place  it 
characteristically  holds  at  the  head  of  each  of  the  succeeding 
grand  divisions  of  the  book. 

Having  reached  its  climacteric  point,  this  adverse  side  of 
the  seal  series  halts.  It  has  lifted  to  view  the  great  headlands 
of  the  symbolism  on  the  adverse  side.  It  will  now  proceed  to 
perform  the  same  office  for  the  redemptorial  side  of  the 
panorama  as  for  the  ontological,  in  which  both  sides  will  be 
brought  up  to  the  same  terminal  point.  That  the  great  ge- 
nerics which  it  will  present  will  partake  of  the  same  character 
as  those  already  before  us  on  the  dark  side  of  the  series 
will  give  added  proof  of  the  correctness  of  the  position  that 
has  been  taken  with  respect  to  these  groupings. 

The  First  Contrastive  Counterpart 

We  have  in  this  section  one  of  the  most  important  features 
of  the  book.  It  occurs  in  each  of  the  major  series  according 
to  a  structural  law  that  is  most  clearly  expressed.  It  is  that 
of  a  supplementary  series,  or  parenthetic  inclusion  of  the 
sixth  seal,  trumpet,  and  vial,  its  object  seemingly  being  that 
of  bringing  this  dual  phase  of  the  panorama  up  to  the  same 
structural  lines  of  characterization.  An  important  point  with 
regard  to  the  structural  plan  of  these  parentheses,  discussed 
in  connection  with  the  issues  of  the  first  chapter  of  the  book, 
here  again  rises  to  view.  Is  this  parenthesis  to  be  viewed  as 
a  sub-seven  of  the  series  of  which  it  is  an  inclusion,  or  is  it 
a  supplementary  phase  of  the  triad? 

The  Annunciation,  if  its  meaning  has  not  been  misappre- 
hended, clearly  determines  that  it  supplements  the  triad.  The 
reason  why  it  thus  takes  this  structural  feature  touches  one 
of  the  profundities  of  the  book,  presenting  visibly  in  its  very 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  153 

structure  at  the  beginning  a  feature  which,  if  misunderstood, 
will  throw  the  terminal  series  into  that  confusion  that  will 
render  intelligible  exposition  impossible.  The  great  fact  to 
be  thus  impressed  is  this:  the  quadrate  here  is  not  the  subject 
of  characterization,  save  in  a  negative  sense.  It  is  introduced 
in  a  manner  strikingly  reminiscent,  but  as  a  single  factor  of 
the  series,  and  as  placed  under  divine  restraint  for  a  specified 
time  and  purpose.  The  two  utterances  which  follow  are  thus 
thrown  into  structural  parallelism  with  the  final  two  of  the 
seals.  The  fact  that  but  two  of  the  factors  of  this  triad  appear 
is  harmonious  with  the  plan  of  development  of  the  panorama. 
Its  lines  pass  forward  into  the  trumpets  in  the  same  manner 
as  those  of  the  seals. 

The  Divine  Restraint  of  the  Four  Winds 
If  the  design  of  this  seal  series  is  in  reality  that  of  dealing 
with  the  great  primal  factors  and  issues  of  the  book  there  is 
certainly  one  most  important  figure  whose  presence  should 
be  recognized  here,  at  the  headlands  of  the  symbolism,  with 
a  characteristic  introduction.  This  factor  is  Satan,  the  chief 
destroyer  and  the  great  commander  behind  these  destructive 
forces.  His  presence  in  the  symbolism  of  the  seals  has  already 
been  recognized  in  this  figure  of  the  mighty  wind  that  sweeps 
the  stars  from  the  sky.  We  shall  now  find  this  adverse  power 
at  the  head  of  this  contrastive  section  as  placed  under  divine 
restraint  for  a  definite  time  and  purpose.  We  shall  also  find, 
in  connection  with  this  restraint,  the  clear  implication  of  a 
subsequent  loosing  of  this  aerial  power  from  this  thrall,  which 
here  holds  it  back  from  hurting  the  earth  and  the  sea  till  the 
seal  of  God  had  been  divinely  imprinted.  We  are  thus  given 
to  see  that  the  binding  and  loosing  of  Satan,  popularly  con- 
ceived as  terminal  episodes  of  the  panorama,  are  in  reality 
the  great  generics  that  are  here  placed  in  position  in  the 
headlands. 

Strictly   constVued,   there   are   but   two   groupings    in    this 


154  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

counterpart ;  for  this  thrall  of  the  four  winds  forms  the  back- 
ground of  the  scene  of  the  sealing  of  Israel.  The  text  is  as 
follows : 

"And  after  these  things  I  saw  four  angels  standing  on  the 
four  corners  of  the  earth,  holding  the  four  winds  of  the  earth, 
that  the  wind  should  not  blow  on  the  earth,  nor  on  the  sea, 
nor  on  any  tree." 

The  purpose  of  this  restraint  is  now  declared. 

The  Sealing  of  the  Twelve  Tribes  of  Israel 
"And  I  saw  another  angel  ascend  from  the  sunrising,  having 
the  seal  of  the  living  God:  and  he  cried  with  a  great  voice 
to  the  four  angels,  to  whom  it  was  given  to  hurt  the  earth 
and  the  sea,  saying,  Hurt  not  the  earth,  neither  the  sea,  nor 
the  trees,  till  we  shall  have  sealed  the  servants  of  our  God 
on  their  foreheads.  And  I  heard  the  number  of  them  that 
were  sealed,  a  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thousand,  sealed 
out  of  every  tribe  of  the  children  of  Israel." 

Following  this  appearance  of  the  angel  upon  the  scene  we 
behold  the  twelve  tribes,  in  even  rank  of  twelve  thousand, 
bearing  their  patriarchal  names,  passing  under  the  hand  of 
this  Executive  who  Imprints  the  seal  upon  them.  For  some 
occult  reason  the  idolatrous  tribes  of  Ephralm  and  Dan  are 
not  Included  In  the  number  of  the  sealed,  though  the  presence 
of  Ephraim  must  be  recognized  In  the  headship  of  Joseph, 
who  In  the  sealing  of  Manasseh  mystically  receives  his  "double 
portion"  In  Israel. 

The  Sunrise  Angel 
The  seal  of  the  living  God  is  In  the  hand  of  this  angel,  and 
by  him  Is  Imprinted  upon  the  foreheads  of  these  tribes.  Who 
is  he?  At  the  beginning  of  the  redemptorial  scene  in  the 
Theophany  a  loud-voiced  angel  appears  who  challenges  the 
universe  to  produce  one  worthy  to  open  the  sealed  book.  Here 
in  the  same  structural  position  a  loud-voiced  angel  puts  this 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  155 

divine  restraint  upon  the  four  winds  until  Israel  shall  have 
been  sealed.  Again,  at  the  same  structural  point  in  the  trump- 
ets we  will  meet  him  as  the  mighty  angel  of  the  Pneumatoph- 
any.  Wherever  he  speaks,  or  appears,  there  is  always  that 
about  him  that  bespeaks  the  Divinity  within  him. 

Coincidence  in  structural  position  here  is  also  declarative 
of  personality.  In  this  first  grouping  of  the  counterpart  this 
sunrise  angel  is  the  chief  figure  within  the  horizon  and  master 
of  ceremonies  of  the  occasion ;  in  the  second  grouping  the 
chief  figure  is  the  Lamb.  In  the  one  case  it  is  the  seal  placed 
in  the  forehead  while  these  winds  are  in  the  grip  of  the  angels 
that  is  the  chef-d'mivre;  in  the  other  it  is  the  white  robe,  that 
is  put  on  through  the  fiery  ordeal  of  "the  great  tribulation," 
which  by  implication  is  the  sequence  of  the  angels'  letting  go. 
Thus  again  the  lights  that  flash  forth  from  the  dual  phases  of 
the  Theophany  present  the  same  personalities  in  correspond- 
ing position  and  in  office  equally  divine.  It  is  an  established 
principle  in  governmental  procedure  that  only  the  executive 
is  ever  intrusted  with  the  governmental  seal.  The  Scriptures 
fully  verify  the  fact  that  the  principle  holds  with  respect  to 
the  divine  government.  This  fact  bars  every  created  angel 
from  executing  such  a  commission  as  this  of  the  Angel  of  the 
Sunrise.  In  the  book  of  the  Christophany  Christ  himself  seems 
to  assume  this  office  of  imprinting  the  name  of  God  in  the 
forehead ;  but  we  must  remember  that  the  very  words  in  which 
he  asserts  it  are  articulated  by  the  lingual  sword,  and  that  it 
is  immediately  added,  "He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear 
what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the  churches."  Again,  it  need  but 
be  said  that  the  act  of  sealing  belongs  to  the  office  of  the 
Spirit.  Saint  Paul  addresses  the  Ephesians  as  "sealed  with 
that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise."  He  also  urges  them  to  "grieve 
not  the  Holy  Spirit,  whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of 
redemption."  To  the  Corinthians  he  writes,  "Who  hath  sealed 
us,  and  given  us  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts." 


156  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Mystery  of  Israel 
There  is  a  mystery  of  Israel  in  the  Old  Testament  as  it 
stands,  elect  of  God,  in  the  presence  of  the  festering  Gentile 
world.  This  mystery  deepens  within  the  lines  of  the  New 
Testament.  Saint  Paul,  at  least,  would  not  have  us  ignorant, 
much  less  skeptical,  with  respect  to  it.  He  tells  us  that 
''blindness  in  part  is  happened  unto  Israel  until  the  fullness 
of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in.  And  so  all  Israel  shall  be  saved." 
He  recognizes  the  fact  that  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant 
has  been  made  with  both  the  "house  of  Israel  and  the  house 
of  Judah."  The  "hope  of  Israel"  is  the  one  brilliant  star  that 
illumines  the  future  of  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  And 
this  fisherman  of  Galilee — innocent  of  all  knowledge  of  the 
scholarship  of  the  Higher  Criticism,  and  having  no  Kuenen 
or  Harnack,  but  only  the  resurrected  Christ  to  open  his  mind 
to  understand  the  Scriptures — perpetuates  this  myth  of  the 
prophets  and  mistake  of  Paul  by  marching  the  whole  of  these 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel  through  the  opening  gates  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse and  putting  the  seal  of  God  upon  them ;  and  again,  in 
the  heart-core  of  his  mighty  theme,  he  takes  them  up  the 
slopes  of  its  highest  mountain  to  stand  with  Christ  and  to 
follow  him  whithersoever  he  goeth,  showing  the  flash  of  their 
white  robes  in  his  wake  on  the  great  field  of  Armageddon, 
and  finally,  in  the  glorious  culminating  scene  where  all  ob- 
scurity fades  into  the  light  of  perfect  day,  discloses  their 
names  blazoned  upon  the  pearl  portals  of  the  Celestial  City. 
This  factor,  which  is  thus  thrown  into  these  headlands  and  in 
varying  phase  traverses  the  entire  body  of  the  unfolding  theme, 
presents  one  of  the  most  important  factors  with  which  we 
have  to  deal.  To  fully  grasp  its  prophetic  significance  is  to 
unlock  one  of  the  most  perplexing  mysteries  of  the  Apocalypse. 

The  Great  White-Robed  Throng — Second  Phase 
In  the  preceding  phase  the  figure  of  the  angel  coming  up 
out  of  the  sunrise  suggests  the  morning  of  this  mystic  char- 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  157 

acterization,  while  the  panorama  that  now  passes  upon  the 
screen  as  plainly  points  us  to  finalities.  The  antithesis  be- 
tween this  grouping  and  that  of  the  sixth  seal  is  so  evident  as 
to  hardly  admit  of  question.  On  the  one  hand  there  is  pre- 
sented the  culmination  of  the  dark  side  of  the  panorama  and 
the  awful  fate  of  the  wicked;  while  on  the  other  there  is  in 
like  manner  portrayed  the  supreme  felicity  of  the  righteous. 

The  picture  here  drawn,  like  that  of  its  antithetic  grouping 
of  the  seal,  must  be  understood  as  simply  another  great  ge- 
neric, which  both  structurally  and  logically  rounds  out  the 
contrastive  principle.  The  seal  carries  us  up  to  the  finality 
of  the  great  day,  and  then  drops  the  veil  upon  the  awful 
scene  of  the  fate  of  the  wicked.  That  belongs  to  the  retribu- 
tive section  of  the  book.  It  lifts  it  here,  in  contrast,  upon  the 
supreme  felicity  of  the  righteous.  In  the  seal  it  has  been 
noted  that  we  have  the  full  complement  of  seven  groupings, 
while  here  we  have  in  reality  but  one,  relating  throughout  to 
the  great  white-robed  throng  in  the  same  manner  as  its  asso- 
ciate grouping  does  to  the  sealing  of  the  tribes.  The  method 
of  introducing  the  numeric  principle  in  the  different  sections 
is  highly  instructive.  The  seal  groups  humanity  under  the 
septad.  Here  it  is  under  the  quadrate,  while  the  triad  covers 
position,  condition,  and  victory.  The  finality  presents  a  full 
seven;  but  this  again  relates  not  to  their  numbers,  beyond 
human  power  to  grasp,  but  to  their  supreme  felicity: 

"After  this  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a  great  multitude,  which  no 
man  could  number,  out  of  (i)  every  nation,  and  (2)  all  tribes, 
and  (3)  peoples,  and  (4)  tongues,  (5)  standing  before  the 
throne,  and  before  the  Lamb,  (6)  arrayed  in  white  robes,  and 
(7)  palms  in  their  hands." 

This  seven  introduces  the  throng.     Next  comes  its  action: 

"And  they  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying.  Salvation  to 
our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb. 
And  all  the  angels  that  were  standing  round  about  the  throne, 
and  about  the  elders,  and  the  four  beasts,  fell  before  the  throne 


158  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

on  their  faces,  and  worshiped  God,  saying,  Amen:  blessing, 
and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honor,  and 
power,  and  might,  be  unto  our  God  forever  and  ever.    Amen." 

It  will  be  observed  that,  though  the  presence  of  the  zoa 
and  the  elders  is  recognized,  they  are  not  represented  as 
taking  any  part  in  this  cyclone  of  praise  which  prostrates 
a  hundred  millions  of  angels  in  the  dust,  though  now  one 
of  the  elders  becomes  master  of  ceremonies  and  again,  as  when 
John  wept  over  the  sealed  book,  steps  to  his  side,  and  in 
fuller  statement  announces  the  triumph  of  redemption,  as, 
before,  he  had  that  of  revelation.  But  behind  this  great  white- 
robed  throng  there  is  some  mystery,  concerning  which  curi- 
osity must  be  aroused  and  answer  given: 

"And  one  of  the  elders  answered,  saying  unto  me,  These 
which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes,  who  are  they,  and  whence 
came  they?  And  I  said  unto  him,  Sir,  thou  knowest  And  he 
said  unto  me,  These  are  they  which  came  out  of  the  great 
tribulation,  and  they  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white 
in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are  they  before  the 
throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his  temple. 

"And  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them. 
They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more ;  neither 
shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall 
lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters:  and  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." 

That  the  importance  of  this  ravishing  picture  is  of  the  first 
order  is  evident  in  the  fact  that  it  takes  the  full  sweep  of  the 
whole  redemptorial  field,  presenting  a  summation  of  the  tri- 
umph of  the  Lamb.  It  holds  to  the  Theophanic  outline,  dis- 
closing him  as  still  in  the  presence  of  the  throne,  while  this 
innumerable  throng,  robed  in  garments  washed  white  in  his 
blood,  shout  the  victory  of  the  Lamb,  with  a  thunder  of  ac- 
claim that  lays  all  these  myriads  of  myriads  and  chiliads  of 
chiliads  of  angels  in  the  dust  at  his  feet.     The  scene  is  con- 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  159 

trastive  with  that  in  which  the  great  adverse  throng  on  the 
dark  side  of  the  picture  are  vainly  calhng  for  the  rocks  and 
mountains  to  fall  upon  them  and  hide  them  from  the  face 
of  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  from  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb.  The  biblical  doctrine  of  divine  election  is  here  pre- 
sented in  monumental  symbol  and  upon  universal  lines.  It 
gives  the  reason  why,  in  the  fact  that  these  saved  ones  washed 
their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
It  presents  thus  the  constituency  of  the  kingdom  over  which, 
as  the  angel  of  the  annunciation  promised,  the  triumphant 
Christ  would  reign  forever.  The  two  great  characteristic 
thoughts  of  the  grouping  are  these:  this  elect  blood-washed 
throng  is  gathered  from  the  points  whither  sealed  Israel  was 
scattered,  and  the  only  question  raised  by  the  elder  is  one  of 
identity. 

This  question  he  now  proceeds  to  answer  in  the  language 
of  the  prophets,  determining,  beyond  the  possibility  of  cavil, 
that  this  great  white-robed  throng  simply  presents  another 
phase  of  characterization  relating  to  this  same  sealed  host. 
The  one  great  fact  that  can  be  more  whelmingly  proved  from 
the  prophets  than  any  other  is  this  divinely  pledged  regath- 
ering  of  the  scattered  tribes  of  Israel.  Christ  can  hardly 
allude  to  an3-thing  else  when,  in  his  great  eschatological  dis- 
course, he  says,  using  the  very  same  imagery  that  is  here 
employed  in  the  Apocalypse,  that 

"Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days  shall  the 
sun  be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and 
the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers  of  heaven  shall 
be  shaken :  and  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man 
in  heaven :  and  then  shall  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn.  And 
they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven 
with  power  and  great  glory.  And  he  shall  send  his  angels 
with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  to- 
gether his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end  of  heaven 
to  the  other"  (Matt.  24.  29). 


i6o  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  generic  character  of  the  picture  as  it  is  here  given 
in  the  Apocalypse  certifies  the  inclusion  of  this  factor  of  the 
address.  We  scout  the  idea  of  identity  and  of  the  possibility 
that  in  this  scene  we  have  the  fulfilling  of  the  solemn  oath 
of  Jehovah,  seeing  only  the  saved  contingents  from  the  diverse 
races  of  earth ;  but  here  again  the  Apocalypse  will  discover 
to  us  our  mistake.  It  is  this  host  with  the  seal  upon  it  that 
stands  with  the  Lamb  on  Mount  Sion,  prepared  to  follow  him, 
and  in  white  robes  does  follow  him  at  Armageddon. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  new  song  sung  by  the  elders  in 
the  presence  of  the  Lamb  logically  identifies  this  white-robed 
throng;  there  proleptic,  here  visual,  and  in  both  cases  gath- 
ered from  the  same  structural  points.  As  a  "great  multitude, 
which  no  man  can  number,"  it  squares  with  numerous  Old 
Testament  utterances  relative  to  multitudinous  Israel  as  under 
the  scepter  of  the  great  Restorer.  The  "great  tribulation" 
also  presents  a  factor  of  identification.  Chiliasm  places  this 
great  tribulation  as  subsequent  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ, 
from  which  the  resurrected  and  raptured  church  will  be  ab- 
sent. Even  though  conceived  as  being  in  it,  they  would  be 
only  relatively  a  small  select  company.  But  the  great  tribu- 
lation here  thrown  upon  this  great  all-inclusive  scroll  of  the 
Theophany  is  presented  as  involving  the  entire  vast  body  of 
that  innumerable  host,  white-robed,  in  the  presence  of  the 
throne.  They  all  came  up  through  it  and  washed  their  robes 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Again,  it  is  Israel  over 
whom  Jehovah  spreads  his  tabernacle  (Revised  Version). 
(See  Isa.  4.  4-6;  Amos  9.  9-11.)  Ezekiel  says,  in  statement 
that  is  simply  whelming,  that  this  gathered  host  is  Israel.  Let 
the  whole  of  chapters  34-37  be  carefully  read.  He  beholds 
this  same  tabernacle.  He  positively  outlines  the  new  dispensa- 
tion in  these  words : 

"Moreover  I  will  make  a  covenant  of  peace  with  them;  it 
shall  be  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them:  and  I  will  place 
them,  and  multiply  them,  and  I  will  set  my  sanctuary  in  the 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  i6i 

midst  of  them  for  evermore.  My  tabernacle  shall  also  be 
with  them;  yea,  I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my 
people.  And  the  heathen  shall  know  that  I  the  Lord  do 
sanctify  Israel,  when  my  sanctuary  shall  be  in  the  midst  of 
them  for  evermore"  {2)7-  26-28). 

Isa.  49  is  positively  Messianic.  It  opens  with  a  prediction 
of  the  birth  of  the  coming  Deliverer,  and  portrays  the  picture 
of  Israel's  deliverance  in  terms  that  are  clearly  parallel  to 
the  utterance  of  this  paragraph.     He  says: 

*'And  he  said.  It  is  a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldest  be  my 
servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the 
preserved  of  Israel;  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the 
Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto  the  ends  of 
the  earth.  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  Redeemer  of  Israel,  and 
his  Holy  One,  to  him  whom  man  despiseth,  to  him  whom  the 
nation  abhorreth,  to  a  servant  of  rulers,  kings  shall  see  and 
arise,  princes  also  shall  worship,  because  of  the  Lord  that  is 
faithful,  and  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  and  he  shall  choose  thee. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord,  In  an  acceptable  time  have  I  heard  thee, 
and  in  a  day  of  salvation  have  I  helped  thee:  and  I  will  pre- 
serve thee,  and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the  people,  to 
establish  the  earth,  to  cause  to  inherit  the  desolate  heritages; 
that  thou  mayest  say  to  the  prisoners.  Go  forth :  and  to  them 
that  are  in  darkness.  Show  yourselves.  They  shall  feed  in  the 
ways,  and  their  pastures  shall  be  in  all  high  places.  They 
shall  not  hunger  nor  thirst;  neither  shall  the  heat  nor  the 
sun  smite  them;  for  he  that  hath  mercy  on  them  shall  lead 
them,  even  by  the  springs  of  zvater  shall  he  guide  them.  And 
I  will  make  all  my  mountains  a  way,  and  my  highways  shall 
be  exalted.  Behold,  these  shall  come  from  far;  and,  lo,  these 
from  the  north,  and  from  the  west ;  and  these  from  the  land 
of  Sinim.  Sing,  O  heavens ;  and  be  joyful,  O  earth ;  break 
forth  into  singing,  O  mountains ;  for  the  Lord  hath  comforted 
his  people,  and  will  have  mercy  upon  his  afflicted,"  etc.  (Isa. 
49.  6-13). 


i62  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

If  this  extended  quotation  does  not  establish  a  parallel  with 
the  concept  of  this  great  white-robed  throng,  then  it  would 
seem  hardly  possible  for  words  to  establish  one.  The  people 
who  are  here  raised  up  by  the  Messiah  are  the  scattered  ten 
tribes  of  Jacob,  and  the  preserved  of  Israel — the  Jews.  It  is 
to  them  that  he  is  given  as  a  covenant;  and  it  is  not  the 
Eskimos,  the  Indians,  and  the  Chinese  that  are  here  portrayed 
as  gathering  from  these  quadrate  points,  but  the  scattered 
people  of  Israel.  It  is  simply  this  divine  pledge,  repeated 
so  voluminously  throughout  the  entire  Old  Testament,  that 
calls  forth  this  question  of  the  elder:  *'Who  are  these  that 
are  arrayed  in  white  robes,  and  whence  came  they?"  Among 
the  vast  multitude  of  scriptures  that  assert  the  regathering  of 
scattered  Israel  by  the  Messiah,  the  reader  is  referred  espe- 
cially to  the  following: 

"And  in  that  day  there  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse,  which  shall 
stand  for  an  ensign  of  the  people;  to.  it  shall  the  Gentiles 
seek:  and  his  rest  shall  be  glorious.  And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  in  that  day,  that  the  Lord  shall  set  his  hand  again  the 
second  time  to  recover  the  remnant  of  his  people,  which  shall 
be  left,  from  Assyria,  and  from  Egypt,  and  from  Pathros,  and 
from  Cush,  and  from  Elam,  and  from  Shinar,  and  from  Ha- 
math,  and  from  the  islands  of  the  sea.  And  he  shall  set  up 
an  ensign  for  the  nations,  and  shall  assemble  the  outcasts  of 
Israel,  and  gather  the  dispersed  of  Judah  from  the  four  corners 
of  the  earth,"  etc.  (Isa.  ii.  10-12). 

Listen  to  Jeremiah: 

"For  thus  saith  the  Lord ;  Sing  with  gladness  for  Jacob, 
and  shout  among  the  chief  of  the  nations:  publish  ye,  praise 
ye,  and  say,  O  Lord,  save  thy  people,  the  remnant  of  Israel. 
Behold,  I  will  bring  them  from  the  north  country,  and  gather 
them  from  the  coasts  of  the  earth,  and  with  them  the  blind 
and  the  lame,  the  woman  with  child  and  her  that  travaileth 
with  child  together:  a  great  company  shall  return  thither. 
And  they  shall  come  with  weeping,  and  with  supplications  will 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  163 

I  lead  them :  I  will  cause  them  to  walk  by  the  rivers  of  waters 
in  a  straight  way,  wherein  they  shall  not  stumble;  for  I  am 
a  father  to  Israel,  and  Ephraim  is  my  firstborn.  Hear  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  O  ye  nations,  and  declare  it  in  the  isles 
afar  off,  and  say,  He  that  scattered  Israel  will  gather  him, 
and  keep  him,  as  a  shepherd  doth  his  Hock.  For  the  Lord 
hath  redeemed  Jacob,  and  ransomed  him  from  the  hand  of 
him  that  zvas  stronger  than  he''  (Jer.  31.  7-1 1 ;  see  also  27-37). 

Zechariah,  as  a  postexilic  prophet,  writing  when  both  these 
houses  had  been,  as  he  says,  "scattered  as  with  a  whirlwind 
among  all  the  nations  whom  they  knew  not,"  holds  tenaciously 
to  this  ancient  pledge  of  Jehovah  which  has  formed  the  theme 
of  all  his  predecessors.    He  says : 

"Behold,  I  will  save  my  people  from  the  east  country,  and 
from  the  west  country :  and  I  will  bring  them,  and  they  shall 
dwell  in  the  midst  of  Jerusalem :  and  they  shall  be  my  people, 
and  I  .will  be  their  God,  in  truth  and  in  righteousness.  .  .  . 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  as  ye  were  a  curse  among 
the  heathen,  O  house  of  Judah,  and  house  of  Israel  [both 
the  Jews  and  the  ten  tribes]  ;  so  will  I  save  you,  and 
ye  shall  be  a  blessing:  fear  not,  let  your  hands  be  strong" 

(8.7-13)- 

It  is  simply  confounding  to  the  critics  to  hear  this  prophet 
saying : 

"And  I  will  strengthen  the  house  of  Judah,  and  I  will 
save  the  house  of  Joseph,  and  I  will  bring  them  again  to 
place  them;  for  I  have  mercy  upon  them:  and  they  shall 
be  as  though  I  had  not  cast  them  off:  for  I  am  the  Lord 
their  God,  and  will  hear  them.  ...  I  will  hiss  for  them, 
and  gather  them ;  for  I  have  redeemed  them :  and  they  shall 
increase  as  they  have  increased.  And  /  will  sow  them  among 
the  peoples:  and  they  shall  remember  me  in  far  countries; 
and  they  shall  live  with  their  children,  and  turn  again,"  etc. 
(10.6-9). 

It  is  one  of  the  anomalies  of  biblical  exposition  that,  with 


164  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

all  the  Hebrew  prophets  reiterating  this  mighty  theme,  we 
should  understand  the  last  and  greatest  of  them  to  have  com- 
pletely forgotten  it  and  to  have  written  of  something  else. 
We  shall  never  understand  the  Apocalypse  until  we  view  it 
as  presenting  the  culmination  of  the  central  concept  of  the 
whole  Book  of  God.  Let  this  fact  but  be  once  admitted  in 
our  thought,  and  immediately  we  grasp  the  significance  of 
this  great  tribulation  as  relating  to  that  age-long  punitive  dis- 
pensation that  sent  Israel  adrift,  among  the  nations,  to  be 
trampled  upon  by  that  terrific  power  that  in  the  further  devel- 
opment of  this  symbolism  will  rise  before  us  in  the  form  of 
that  horrible  creature,  in  the  likeness  of  the  devil,  who  rules 
the  empire  of  the  world  until,  in  the  final  triumph  of  the 
Messianic  day,  he  is  consigned  to  the  eternal  burnings. 

The  two  sides  of  the  seal  series  have  now  been  brought  up 
abreast,  but  the  book  of  the  Theophany  does  not  end  here. 
Indeed,  it  has  but  begun.  It  now  will  take  on  a  new  phase 
of  expression,  by  shifting  the  panorama  back  again  to  the  main 
track  and  by  introducing  an  entirely  new  series  of  symbols, 
which,  as  the  amplified  utterance  of  the  seventh  seal,  will 
start  again  at  these  apocalyptic  headlands,  and  under  the  same 
governing  lines  course  through  the  entire  apocalyptic  field. 

The  Seventh  Seal — The  Trumpets 
The  utterance  of  the  seventh  seal  develops  the  second  group- 
ing of  this  celestial  series.  It  presents  readjusted  staging 
and  symbol,  and  is  squared  upon  the  same  structural  lines 
as  the  seals.  Behind  the  seventh  seal  is  the  mystic  writing 
of  the  trumpets.  The  fact  is  determinate  of  coordinate  scope 
of  characterization.  The  rigid  parallel  of  the  structural  lines 
of  these  two  series,  of  the  seals  and  trumpets,  gives  us  to 
understand  that  both  begin  at  the  same  great  headlands  and 
have  the  same  universal  sweep,  simply  characterizing  diverse 
phases  of  generic  truth.  In  the  vial  series  this  principle  of 
coordination  becomes  of  vital  importance  in  lifting  some  of 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  165 

the  deepest  shadows  that  becloud  this  series  of  retribution. 
Attention  must  first  be  directed  to 

The  Seven  Trumpets 
Readjustment  of  the  Staging 
The  Single  Exponential  Grouping 

THE   quadrate 

(i)  "And  when  he  had  opened  the  seventh  seal,  there  was 
silence  in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour." 

This  silence  has  given  rise  to  endless  conjecture  as  to  its 
possible  significance.  The  most  natural  inference,  perhaps,  is 
that  it  is  the  tenninal  punctuating  point  of  the  seals,  as  the 
thunder  is  the  initial.  While  this  suggestion  need  not  be 
wholly  rejected,  yet  its  office  may  the  rather  be  that  of  a 
connecting  link  which  determines  that  the  exponential  group- 
ing to  follow  squares  with  that  of  the  redemptorial  scene  of 
the  Theophany.     It  is  the  same  "silence"  in  both  cases. 

While  three  worlds  were  silent  in  the  throne  scene,  the 
Lamb  and  seven  Spirits  are  disclosed.  Here,  again,  during  this 
solemn  "half  hour,"  seven  angels  glide  into  position  as  the 
associate  figure  of  a  dignified  angel  who,  as  master  of  cere- 
monies, advances  to  the  golden  altar.  His  dual  ministration 
at  the  altar  while  the  seven  wait  involves  the  dominant  thought 
of  the  series  to  follow.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  figure  of 
the  Lamb  is  unaccountably  absent  from  this  entire  trumpet 
series.  So  also  are  the  seven  Spirits.  The  elders  and  the 
zoa  also  seem  to  have  no  part  to  play  in  the  passing  panorama. 

(2)  The  altar  scene:  "And  I  saw  the  seven  angels,  which 
stood  before  God  ;  and  to  them  were  given  seven  trumpets." 

(3)  "And  another  angel  came  and  stood  at  the  altar,  having 
a  golden  censer." 

(4)  "And  there  was  given  unto  him  much  incense,  that  he 
should  oflFcr  it  with  the  prayers  of  all  saints  upon  the  golden 
altar  which  was  before  the  throne." 


i66  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 


THE    TRIAD 

(5)  "And  the  smoke  of  the  incense,  which  came  with  the 
prayers  of  the  saints,  ascended  up  before  God  out  of  the  angel's 
hand." 

(6)  **And  the  angel  took  the  censer,  and  filled  it  with  fire 
of  the  altar,  and  cast  it  into  the  earth." 

The  quadrate  thus  introduces  the  master  of  ceremonies  of 
this  new  series,  while  the  triad  presents  his  two  characteristic 
actions.  The  altar  scene  properly  terminates  at  this  point. 
The  next  utterance  is  that  of  the  ranking  divisional  exponent 
of  the  book :  the  throne  voicings. 

Who  are  this  Angel  of  the  golden  altar  and  the  seven  execu- 
tives who  wait  upon  his  solemn  ministration?  It  need  not  be 
said  that  the  use  of  the  terms  "angels"  and  "angel"  determines 
nothing  with  respect  to  the  personality  of  the  figures  them- 
selves. The  seven  are  introduced  as  the  seven  angels  that 
stand,  or  were  standing,  before  God.  The  statement  is  remi- 
niscent of  the  Theophany.  But  the  only  seven  there  introduced 
as  in  the  presence  of  God  were  the  seven  Spirits  which  com- 
bined as  eyes  in  the  figure  of  the  Lamb.  With  the  fact  of 
their  metamorphosis  from  lamps  to  eyes  it  should  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  of  them  as  gliding  into  position  here,  in  the 
same  numeric  caste  of  perfection,  as  the  seven  angels.  An 
angel  is  one  sent  forth.  As  these  seven  eyes  combine  in  the 
figure  of  the  Lamb  they  are  identified  as  "the  seven  Spirits 
sent  forth  into  all  the  earth."  This  statement  concerning  them 
prepares  the  way  for  their  identification  here. 

The  Angel  at  the  golden  altar  performs  a  most  solemn  high- 
priestly  function  while  these  seven  wait  in  his  presence.  Who 
is  he?  Does  the  Lamb  begin  this  series  of  the  breaking  seals 
and  then,  as  it  rises  in  the  development  of  its  mystic  splendors, 
surrender  its  further  development  into  the  hands  of  angels? 
Is  it  conceivable  that  there  is  an  angel  anywhere  within  the 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  167 

realms  of  glory  that  has  an  incense  so  precious  that  he  may 
deign  to  mingle  it  with  the  prayers  of  the  saints  as  the  meri- 
torious cloud  upon  which  they  may  be  wafted  up  before  the 
eternal  throne?  If  so,  then  it  seems  strange  that,  when  three 
worlds  were  searched  for  some  one  worthy  to  take  the  sealed 
book,  he  was  overlooked.  For  if  he  is  worthy  to  stand  in  this 
position  he  certainly  was  no  less  worthy  to  stand  in  that.  If 
it  is  true  that  these  prayers,  disclosed  in  the  vials  in  the  re- 
demptorial  scene  as  withheld  until  the  Lamb  should  triumph, 
may  now  be  offered  to  God  at  the  hand  of  an  angel,  it  would 
seem  that  the  office  of  Christ  in  this  respect  had  been  super- 
seded and  that  the  Romanists  have  good  ground  for  their 
belief  in  the  efficacious  mediation  of  angels.  We  should  dis- 
abuse our  minds  of  all  such  notions  as  these.  There  is  only 
one  incense  that  is  worthy  to  waft  prayer  upward  to  the  throne 
of  God.  The  veil  that  is  loosely  thrown  over  these  figures  in 
the  readjustment  of  the  staging  covers  the  same  Divine  Per- 
sonalities as  stood  at  the  head  of  the  series  of  the  epistles  and 
of  the  seals. 

In  each  of  these  great  sevens  a  special  phase  of  the  Mes- 
sianic office  is  thrown  into  characterization.  Under  the  seals 
it  is  that  of  Prophet;  under  the  trumpets  it  is  that  of  Priest; 
while  under  the  vials  it  will  be  that  of  King.  As  this  high- 
priestly  Angel  stands  before  the  golden  altar  much  incense  is 
given  him.  The  significance  of  the  incense  symbol  has  already 
been  fixed  in  the  redemptorial  scene  as  that  of  prayer,  or  inter- 
cession. The  power  of  intercession  was  given  to  Christ  by 
virtue  of  the  atonement.  The  meaning  of  the  first  phase  of 
this  ministration  before  the  golden  altar  thus  becomes  beauti- 
fully clear,  though  the  second  may  not  resolve  itself  so  readily. 
This  great  High  Priest  takes  of  the  fire  of  the  altar,  which  has 
just  sent  his  offering  of  incense  up  before  the  throne,  and  casts 
it  into  the  earth.  As  an  exponential  factor  of  the  coming 
trumpet  symbolism  it  certainly  finds  a  marvelous  amplification ; 
for  in  some  phase  it  enters  into  every  one  of  its  groupings. 


1 68  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  meaning  of  this  act  is  the  same  as  that  in  Luke  12.  49, 
where  Christ  affirms  of  himself,  *T  am  come  to  send  fire  on  the 
earth;  and  what  will  I,  if  it  be  already  kindled?" 

The  Second  Utterance  of  the  Concerted  Voicings 
In  the  Theophany  these  voicings,  purely  trinitarian,  all  come 
from  the  throne.  To  them  now  there  is  added  the  initial  factor 
of  the  symbolism  of  the  sixth  seal — the  great  earthquake.  At- 
tention has  been  previously  called  to  the  fact  that  the  thunders 
and  lightnings,  as  first  uttered  from  the  throne,  here  change 
position,  falling  back  again  to  their  original  places,  in  the 
two  subsequent  utterances  of  this  exponent.  Allowing  that 
they  are  a  possible  reflex  of  office  or  personality  in  the  Trinity, 
then  this  change  becomes  profoundly  significant.  It  gives  sym- 
bolic notice  that  within  the  lines  of  the  trumpet  symbolism 
we  may  expect  a  spectacular  presentation  of  the  person  and 
office  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  anticipation,  as  will  be  seen, 
is  fully  met  in  the  fact  that  on  one  side  of  the  series  we  have 
this  distributive  figure,  which  as  the  executive  of  the  great 
High  Priest  characteristically  develops  the  different  phases  of 
the  groupings  and  then  flames  before  us  in  the  Counterpart 
in  the  glory  of  the  Pneumatophany. 

In  the  giving  of  this  earthquake  symbol  exponential  office, 
in  association  with  these  emanations  from  the  throne,  a  most 
significant  and  important  principle  of  enunciation  is  established. 
In  the  mystic  language  of  this  book  we  are  told  that,  while 
the  great  generics  of  the  Theophany  will  be  still  held  to  view, 
the  symbolism  will  deal  specifically  w^th  the  momentous  issues 
of  the  sixth  seal.  The  fact  that  in  the  next  utterance  of  these 
voicings  the  leading  factor  of  this  trumpet  imagery  is,  in  like 
manner,  given  this  dignified  exponential  position  can  but  im- 
press the  reader  with  the  structural  refinements  of  the  sym- 
bolism. This  fact  discloses  the  importance  of  the  exponents 
as  governing  the  lines  of  development  or  amplification  of  the 
symbolism.    The  retributive  features  of  the  sixth  seal  are  not 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  169 

introduced  in  amplification  until  the  ''great  hail,"  the  retribu- 
tive symbol,  is  placed  in  exponential  position,  as  it  will  be  in 
the  next  concerted  utterance  of  these  throne  voicings.  This 
earthquake  symbol,  being  thus  given  the  ranking  exponential 
position  as  next  the  voicings  of  the  throne,  fully  certifies  the 
character  of  its  office.  It  is  not  some  local  convulsion  of  the 
natural  realm,  but  the  great  seismic  chill  and  shudder  that 
preceded  earth's  fevered  course  of  sin.  It  characterizes  the 
counter  activity  of  the  underworld  as  against  the  divine  activ- 
ities of  the  throne.  The  repetition  of  this  factor  in  its  expo- 
nential position  does  not  change  its  significance  more  than  it 
does  that  of  the  throne  voicings  themselves.  As  this  exponen- 
tial utterance  takes  its  fourth  and  final  position  it  becomes  an 
apocalyptic  seven,  drawing  again  upon  the  groupings  of  the 
sixth  seal  for  its  exponent  of  finalities. 

The  Sounding  of  the  Trumpets 
the  quadrate 

'The  first  angel  sounded,  and  there  followed  hail  and  fire 
mingled  with  blood,  and  they  were  cast  upon  the  earth :  and  the 
third  part  of  the  trees  was  burnt  up,  and  all  green  grass  was 
burnt  up." 

Like  the  quadrate  of  the  seals,  this  of  the  trumpets  intro- 
duces a  series  of  calamitous  symbol.  The  fact  that  in  the  latter 
case  the  reference  is  to  the  sphere  of  the  spiritual  is  fully 
certified  by  the  dominant  presence  of  the  trine,  or  spiritual, 
number  in  every  situation  disclosed. 

The  great  factors  or  principles  here  introduced  must  be 
understood  as  abstractions,  in  the  same  sense  as  those  of  the 
seals.  That  the  hail  should  be  initial  here,  when  it  also  becomes 
the  final  factor  of  the  retributive  series,  may  seem  perplexing 
at  first  glance,  but  its  meaning  becomes  clear  as  the  symbolic 
office  of  the  "hail"  is  clearly  called  for  at  the  head  of  this 
calamitous  symbolism.  Hail  is  the  judgment  symbol.  Its  fall 
in  Eden  sent  destruction  and  death  into  the  world. 


170  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

It  will  be  noted  that  of  this  triad  the  fire  alone  becomes 
active,  burning  up  one  third  of  the  trees  and  all  of  the  green 
grass.  This  fact  elucidates  the  meaning  of  the  fire  that  was 
cast  upon  the  earth  from  the  censer  of  the  great  High  Priest. 
His  is  a  double  office.  His  meritorious  intercession  will  save 
the  saints,  while  his  fire  will  destroy  the  wicked.  But  this 
whole  triad  must  be  understood  as  operative,  for  they  are 
mingled.  Judgment  precipitates  destruction,  while  its  resultant 
is  death. 

With  regard  to  the  meaning  of  the  burning  up  of  only  one 
third  of  the  trees,  while  the  grass  is  totally  destroyed,  we  may 
understand  the  reference  to  be  to  the  fact  that  both  the  spir- 
itual and  the  natural  life  are  involved  in  this  primeval  judg- 
ment. The  natural  life  is  thus  symbolized  in  the  grass,  which 
is  totally  destroyed.  Death  was  passed  upon  all  men,  because 
that  all  had  sinned.  The  higher  form  of  life  is  not  totally 
destroyed,  but  only  in  its  third  part.  If  reference  is  here  made 
to  the  trees  that  grew  in  the  midst  of  Eden,  one  of  which  bore 
the  fruitage  of  eternal  life,  we  can  easily  perceive  the  mystic 
meaning  of  this  destructive  incursion  of  this  triad. 

The  Fall  of  the  Great  Fire-Mountain 
"And  the  second  angel  sounded,  and  as  it  were  a  great 
mountain  burning  with  fire  was  cast  into  the  sea :  and  the  third 
part  of  the  sea  became  blood ;  and  the  third  part  of  the  crea- 
tures which  were  in  the  sea,  and  had  life,  died;  and  the  third 
part  of  the  ships  were  destroyed." 

Mountain,  in  scriptural  symbolism,  stands  for  kingdom,  or 
dominion.  The  sea  stands  for  the  quadrate  of  humanity.  The 
meaning  of  these  figures  need  not,  therefore,  detain  us.  It 
reveals  the  destructive  dominion  of  Satan  as  established  in 
the  earth.  The  fact  that  this  burning  mountain  plunges  thus 
into  humanity's  great  sea  in  reality  solves  the  mystery  of 
another  figure  which  in  the  following  series  we  shall  behold 
emerging  from  it  as  the  later  evolution  of  this  fiery  involution. 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  171 

The  Fall  of  the  Burning  Star 

"And  the  third  angel  sounded,  and  there  fell  a  great  star 
from  heaven,  burning  as  it  were  a  lamp,  and  it  fell  upon  the 
third  part  of  the  rivers,  and  upon  the  fountains  of  waters: 
and  the  name  of  the  star  is  called  Wormwood.  And  the  third 
part  of  the  waters  became  wormwood ;  and  many  men  died  of 
the  waters,  because  they  were  made  bitter." 

A  difference  is  to  be  noted  between  the  descent  of  the 
burning  mountain  and  the  burning  star.  The  one  is  simply 
cast  into  the  sea,  while  the  other  falls  from  heaven.  The  star 
symbol,  as  in  the  Christophany,  stands  for  a  mystic  personality. 
This  was  a  great  star,  and  occupied  an  exalted  position  in 
these  Theophanic  heavens,  from  which  it  falls  upon  the  rivers 
and  springs,  embittering  them  so  that  they  become  surcharged 
with  death.  The  meaning  of  the  symbols  here  also  seems  thinly 
veiled. 

Water  is  the  symbol  of  life.  The  fall  of  this  star,  therefore, 
imports  the  fall  of  a  personality  the  result  of  which  is  to  turn 
the  sources  and  streams  of  life  to  wormwood.  That  the  third 
part  of  the  waters  only  was  embittered  is  significant  of  the  fact 
that  it  is  the  spiritual  that  is  thus  poisoned,  and  not  the  natural. 
Some  have  seen  in  the  fall  of  this  burning  star  a  characteriza- 
tion of  the  fall  of  Satan ;  but  it  was  not  his  fall  that  embittered 
the  springs  of  human  life,  but  the  fall  of  man  himself.  The 
demands  of  the  symbolism  at  this  point  seem  to  call  for  recog- 
nition of  this  sad  fact,  and  in  the  fall  of  this  burning  star  we 
have  it. 

The  Eclipse  of  the  Celestial  Luminaries 
"And  the  fourth  angel  sounded,  and  the  third  part  of  the 
sun  was  smitten,  and  the  third  part  of  the  moon,  and  the  third 
part  of  the  stars ;  so  as  the  third  part  of  them  was  darkened, 
and  the  day  shone  not  for  a  third  part  of  it,  and  the  night 
likewise." 


172  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  meaning  of  this  partial  eclipse  of  the  luminaries  of  the 
heavens  becomes  resolvable  in  the  light  of  the  great  spiritual 
calamity  that  has  preceded  it.  Whether  we  are  to  conceive 
of  it  as  subjective,  resulting  from  the  death  of  the  spiritual 
in  man,  or  as  an  objective  darkening  of  the  heavens  themselves, 
the  results  are  the  same.  Man's  spiritual  nature  Hes  in  ruins. 
Whether  subjective  or  objective,  it  matters  little;  the  eclipse  is 
surely  on.  Let  any  one  of  the  senses  be  lost,  the  result  is  the 
blotting  out  of  an  entire  realm.  In  the  loss  of  correspondence 
we  lose  the  realm.  Deaf  ears  are  oblivious  to  the  warbling 
of  the  birds ;  blind  eyes  to  the  beauties  of  landscape  and  sky ; 
so  of  the  spiritual.  The  natural  man  receiveth  not  of  the  things 
of  the  Spirit. 

THE   TRIAD 

Following  the  blast  of  these  four  trumpets  there  is  a  pause, 
during  which  an  angel — or  eagle,  as  the  revisers  have  it — 
flies  through  mid-heaven  with  his  proclamation  of  coming  woe. 
The  Revision  translates  as  follows: 

**And  I  saw,  and  I  heard  an  eagle  flying  in  mid-heaven,  say- 
ing with  a  great  voice.  Woe,  woe,  woe  for  them  that  dwell 
on  the  earth,  by  reason  of  the  other  voices  of  the  trumpet  of 
the  three  angels,  who  are  yet  to  sound." 

Whether  he  is  eagle  or  angel,  or,  as  some  have  conceived, 
the  spirit  of  the  eagle-faced  zoon,  it  does  not  fall  within  the 
province  of  this  treatise  to  discuss.  As  a  divisional  marking 
this  proclamation  calls  attention  to  the  importance  of  the  com- 
ing symbolism  of  the  three  woes,  which  will  develop  as  the 
sequence  of  the  blast  of  these  three  remaining  trumpets. 

The  Fallen  Star  with  the  Key  of  the  Bottomless  Pit 

*'And  the  fifth  angel  sounded,  and  I  saw  a  star  fallen  from 
heaven  unto  the  earth ;  and  to  him  was  given  the  key  of  the 
bottomless  pit.  And  he  opened  the  bottomless  pit,  and  there 
arose  a  smoke  out  of  the  pit,  as  the  smoke  out  of  a  great  fur- 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  173 

nace ;  and  the  sun  and  the  air  were  darkened  by  reason  of  the 
smoke  of  the  pit/' 

The  law  of  sohdarity  of  symbol  here  identifies  this  star  as 
the  one  already  fallen  from  heaven,  and  not  another  falling. 
Some  hold  that  the  act  which  this  fallen  star  performs  is 
fraught  with  such  dire  results  to  earth  that  only  the  fiendish 
hand  of  Satan  himself  could  be  conceived  as  opening  the  door 
for  such  a  horrifying  incursion.  But  the  Scriptures  here  sus- 
tain the  solidarity  of  the  apocalyptic  symbolism.  It  is  not 
Satan,  but  man  himself. 

The  light  which  here  flashes  through  the  veil  is  of  unusual 
brilliance,  the  symbols  having  a  correlate  force  that  clearly 
determines  the  construction  to  be  put  upon  the  millenarian 
section,  where  the  mighty  angel,  with  this  same  key  in  his 
hand  and  a  great  chain,  retrieves  the  work  of  this  fallen  star 
at  the  mouth  of  the  bottomless  pit.  The  correlate  and  coin- 
cident force  of  the  symbols  here  is  conclusive.  In  the  seals  the 
first  Adam  rides  to  defeat  as  the  white  horseman ;  in  the  Trilogy 
the  second  Adam  upon  the  same  white  horse  rides  forward  to 
victory.  So  in  the  changed  phase  of  the  symbolism  of  the 
trumpets  the  same  truth,  squared  again  upon  the  same  struc- 
tural lines,  is  held  before  us  in  the  figures  of  this  fallen  star 
and  this  angel  with  the  key  and  chain.  The  Apocalypse  here 
presents  the  great  fact  of  the  gift  of  free  agency  to  man, 
which  was  used  with  such  dire  results,  and  not  this  imagined 
gratuity  to  Satan,  which  looks  so  like  malice  prepense  against 
the  world.  This  key  was  not  placed  in  the  hand  even  of  the 
first  Adam  that  he  might  throw  wide  these  doors  of  infernality. 
That  was  the  unavoidable  alternative  of  free  agency.  It  was 
God's  choice  to  place  in  man's  possession  the  awful  power 
symbolized  in  this  key.  With  it,  if  he  had  chosen  so  to  do, 
he  could  have  held  this  door  against  Abaddon  and  his  horde 
of  locusts  forever.  That  the  Scriptures  abundantly  sustain 
this  interpretation  will  appear  from  the  following  quotations: 
"As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 


174  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

"Therefore  as  by  the  offense  of  one  judgment  came  upon  all 
men  to  condemnation ;  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the 
free  gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life."  ''Where- 
fore, as  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death  by 
sin;  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have 
sinned"    (i   Cor.   15.  22',  Rom.  5.   18,   12). 

These  scriptures,  without  quoting  further,  are  sufficient  to 
fix  the  base  of  this  imagery  and  to  sustain  its  exegesis. 

Let  us  now  take  our  stand  at  the  door  of  the  pit  itself  to 
behold  the  horrible  thing  that  is  let  loose  in  the  earth  by  the 
power  of  this  mysterious  key  in  the  hand  of  this  fallen  star. 
Rightly  used,  it  would  have  opened  heaven  instead  of  the  pit. 

First  there  arose  smoke  from  the  pit  that  darkened  the  sun 
and  the  air.  Out  of  this  smoke  came  these  locusts;  to  whom 
was  given  power,  as  the  scorpions  of  the  earth  have  power. 

It  wall  be  noted  that  the  trine  number  holds  under  this 
trumpet  the  same  as  in  the  preceding  quadrate,  presenting 
(i)  the  incursion  of  these  locusts  into  the  earth;  (2)  the 
fact  that  they  are  immediately  placed  under  divine  restraint; 
(3)  a  description  of  their  physical  characteristics. 

The  Divine  Restraint  of  the  Locusts 
On  the  one  side  of  the  seal  imagery  there  was  introduced 
a  mighty  wind  which  swept  the  stars  from  the  heavens;  on 
the  other  we  have  the  fact  of  this  wind  being  placed  under 
divine  restraint.  Here  we  have  a  corollary  of  the  same  mystic 
truth.  The  fact  of  this  restraint  is  set  forth  in  a  statement 
with  respect  to  its  nature  that  is  of  the  greatest  value.  It 
brings  before  us  again,  in  slightly  changed  phase,  the  sym- 
bolism of  this  same  divine  restraint  as  it  was  characterized  in 
the  seals.    The  text  is  as  follows : 

"And  it  was  commanded  them  that  they  should  not  hurt 
the  grass  of  the  earth,  neither  any  green  thing,  neither  any 
tree;  but  only  those  men  which  have  not  the  seal  of  God  in 
their  foreheads." 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  175 

In  both  cases  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  reference  is  to  the 
same  points — the  flora  of  the  earth,  and  Israel. 

It  will  be  also  noted  here  that  the  law  of  physical  harmony 
is  observed  in  the  development  of  both  these  characterizations. 
The  three  points  upon  which  the  destructive  power  of  the  winds 
is  exercised  show  congruity  with  nature.  They  are  the  earth, 
the  sea,  and  the  trees,  while  the  locusts  destroy  everything 
green  that  lies  in  their  path.  The  employment  of  the  trine 
number  in  both  cases  shows  behind  the  metamorphosed  sym- 
bol the  same  basic  truth.  In  the  one  case  this  divine  restraint 
operates  through  the  period  of  an  entire  grouping.  It  is 
during  the  mystic  time  that  the  seal  of  the  Living  God  is  being 
impressed  in  the  foreheads  of  this  rounded  and  select  number 
of  all  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel;  again,  it  is  by  imperative 
command  that  this  destructive  horde  from  the  abyss  is  pre- 
cluded from  harming  any  save  those  who  have  not  the  seal  of 
God  in  their  foreheads.  This  fact  again  clearly  draws  the  line 
between  the  world  and  Israel.  In  thus  squaring  these  two 
characterizations  of  restraint  upon  the  same  structural  lines 
we  have,  by  clearest  implication,  the  suggestion  of  a  like  corre- 
lation between  the  grouping  that  discloses  the  great  white- 
robed  throng  and  its  tribulation  and  that  which  will  follow 
in  the  same  structural  order,  in  the  wake  of  these  locust  infer- 
nals,  as  the  second  Woe. 

Again,  a  most  important  distinction  here  appears  between 
these  infernals  of  the  pit  and  those  which  in  the  second  Woe 
will  rise  out  of  the  waters  of  the  great  Euphrates.  They  had 
not  power  to  kill  the  not-sealed  part  of  the  world,  but  simply 
to  torment  them  with  scorpion  sting  until  death  was  sought 
as  a  relief  from  the  agony  of  living.  The  Euphrates  horde  will 
possess  this  power  and  will  kill  the  third  part  of  men.  The 
one  thought  that  stands  out  in  the  clear  is  that  of  the  intensi- 
fying of  the  figures  as  the  panorama  unfolds. 

Another  most  important  point  is  raised  here  with  respect  to 
the  significance  of  this  mystic  time  period  of  ''five  months," 


176  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

during  which  these  infernals  go  forth  and  exercise  their 
power.  The  number  five  being  half  of  the  universal  number 
ten,  it  is  possible  that  the  significance  is  that  of  an  equable 
mystic  division  of  time  between  the  period  of  these  two  group- 
ings that  are  thus  placed  in  this  close  relation  in  this  triad  of 
the  trumpets.  This  fact  will  develop  its  lines  more  clearly 
in  the  Trilogy. 

Physical  Characteristics  of  the  Locusts 
''And  the  shapes  of  the  locusts  were  like  unto  horses  prepared 
unto  battle;  and  on  their  heads  were  as  it  were  crowns  like 
gold,  and  their  faces  were  as  the  faces  of  men.  And  they  had 
hair  as  the  hair  of  women,  and  their  teeth  were  as  the  teeth 
of  lions.  And  they  had  breastplates,  as  it  were  breastplates 
of  iron;  and  the  sound  of  their  wings  was  as  the  sound  of 
chariots  of  many  horses  rushing  to  battle.  And  they  had  tails 
like  unto  scorpions,  and  there  were  stings  in  their  tails: 
and  their  power  was  to  hurt  men  five  months.  And  they  had 
a  king  over  them,  which  is  the  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit, 
whose  name  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  is  Abaddon,  but  in  the 
Greek  tongue  hath  his  name  Apollyon." 

The  study  of  the  physical  characteristics  of  these  uncouth 
infernals  is  most  interesting,  from  the  matter-of-fact  way  in 
which  it  throws  upon  this  mystic  screen  the  features  of  a  crea- 
ture which  we  know  exists  only  as  an  intellectual  abstraction. 
The  fact  that  we  have  in  each  of  these  succeeding  woes  a  like 
figure  of  increasingly  terrible  visage  can  but  give  us  sug- 
gestions of  the  greatest  possible  value,  if  we  are  but  sufficiently 
alert  to  apprehend  them. 

The  most  striking  thing,  perhaps,  about  this  demon  of  the 
pit  is  the  utter  lack  of  symmetry,  coherency,  and  natural  affili- 
ation of  parts  in  its  make-up.  Falsehood  is  written  all  over  it. 
It  is  a  living  lie  photographed.  The  relation  of  each  part  to 
every  other  part  is  a  physical  falsehood.  It  is  called  a  locust,  and 
yet  the  shape  is  like  that  of  horses  prepared  for  battle.    Crowns 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  177 

of  seeming  gold  are  upon  their  heads ;  it  is  not  real  gold,  but  a 
counterfeit,  and  a  cheat  like  themselves.  They  had  faces  like 
men.  No  matter  how  brutal,  devilish,  or  incoherent  false- 
hood is,  it  always  tries  to  present  an  intelligent  face.  Feminine 
hair  on  the  heads  of  men  is  another  falsehood.  This  feature 
may  relate  to  the  seductive  power  of  a  nicely  caparisoned  lie. 
Their  teeth  also  were  false  teeth,  seemingly  the  teeth  of  lions. 
Their  breastplates  simulated  iron,  but  it  was  also  false.  But 
the  sound  of  their  wings,  that  was  real.  It  was  like  the  rushing 
of  a  mighty  cavalry  charge  upon  the  field  of  battle.  False- 
hood beating  the  air  with  its  wings  fills  the  whole  world  with 
its  noise  and  commotion.  Its  scorpion  sting,  that  also  is  a 
reality.  It  comes  last  in  the  category,  as  it  does  in  the  action 
of  this  infernal  thing.  Its  only  mission  on  earth  is  to  make 
a  great  noise  with  its  wings  and  to  ply  its  scorpion  sting  until 
it  sets  agonized  humanity  vainly  seeking  for  relief  in  death. 
Its  universality  is  indicated  in  the  fact  that  it  is  made  up  of 
ten  distinct  features :  it  is  insect,  horse,  lion,  man,  woman, 
serpent,  crowned,  winged,  armored,  and  wields  the  sting  of 
the  scorpion.  Were  this  monster  not  sufficiently  Identified 
by  the  uncouth  photograph  here  presented,  the  figures  which 
we  shall  soon  see  rising  over  against  it,  in  the  Contrastive 
Counterpart,  are  fully  sufficient  to  identify  it  as  the  Satanic 
counterfeit  of  divine  truth. 

This  is  the  divinely  inspired  picture  of  that  infernal  thing 
which  the  devil  persuades  intelligent  men  to  embrace  as  the 
most  lovely  thing  on  earth,  and  in  behalf  of  which  they  will 
even  fight  and  die.  It  roams  over  the  whole  of  this  broad 
earth.  It  creeps  into  every  unguarded  opening  where  it  is 
possible  for  entrance  to  be  made.  It  insinuates  itself  even 
within  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  temple  of  God,  where  it 
deceives  the  unwary  with  its  gilded  crown  and  stings  them  with 
its  poisoned  shaft. 

The  king  of  these  monsters  is  the  angel  of  the  bottomless 
pit ;  a  fallen  angel,  it  is  true,  but  between  whom  and  this  fallen 


178  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

star  who  flings  wide  the  door  before  him  there  is  discoverable 
no  symboHc  suggestion  of  identity.  The  one  is  a  star  fallen 
from  heaven ;  the  other  is  a  king  that  comes  up  from  the  depths 
of  the  underworld.  The  fact  that  the  name  of  this  king  is 
given  in  both  Hebrew  and  Greek  has  its  suggestions  with 
respect  to  the  two  languages  in  which  divine  revelation  is 
given.  The  devil  can  lie  in  both  languages.  His  name  in 
Hebrew  and  then  in  Greek,  meaning  destroyer  in  both  tongues, 
mystically  determines  the  fact  that  this  monster  will  ramify 
the  New  Testament  era  as  well  as  the  Old. 

It  will  be  noted  by  the  careful  reader  that  the  period  of 
domination  of  five  months  is  given  twice.  This  as  a  part  of 
the  utterance  of  the  paragraph  also  has  its  significance.  As 
doubled  it  rounds  out  the  decimal  of  time,  thus  giving  us  the 
suggestion  that  it  may  thrall  the  ages  even  up  to  the  end  of 
time.  With  the  utterance  of  this  trumpet  completed  the  an- 
nouncement is  now  made  that  the  "first  woe  is  past,"  but  that 
two  more  are  waiting  to  be  thrown  upon  the  passing  screen. 

The  Loosing  of  the  Four  Bound  Angels 
"And  the  sixth  angel  sounded,  and  I  heard  a  voice  from  the 
four  horns  of  the  golden  altar  which  is  before  God,  saying  to 
the  sixth  angel  which  had  the  trumpet.  Loose  the  four  angels 
which  are  bound  in  the  great  river  Euphrates." 

This  symbolism  of  the  loosing  of  these  Euphrates  angels  has 
from  time  immemorial  been  considered  most  obscure  and  ex- 
tremely difficult  of  exposition.  But  if  we  adhere  strictly  to  the 
limitations  of  the  structural  lines  already  clearly  projected, 
to  the  very  end  of  the  panorama,  we  can  hardly  miss  of  get- 
ting a  glimpse  at  least  of  the  generic  truth  set  forth  in  this 
paragraph.  The  Contrastive  Counterpart  of  the  seals,  it  will 
be  recalled,  presented  the  two  pictures:  of  the  four  winds  in 
the  thrall  of  the  restraining  quadrate,  and  then  of  the  great 
tribulation ;  the  one  Israelite,  the  other  white-robed  Christian- 
ity.   Together  they  embrace  the  full  scope  of  the  apocalyptic 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  179 

panorama.  The  structural  lines  thus  established  here  rise  before 
us  again  in  these  two  sections  of  this  triad  of  the  trumpets.  On 
the  one  side  we  have  again  these  same  malevolent  winds,  in 
changed  phase  and  symbol,  as  related  to  the  same  Israel  and, 
with  respect  to  them,  again  put  under  divine  restraint;  and 
even  with  respect  to  these  whom  they  could  assail,  they  could 
only  torment  them.  This  symbolism  of  the  Euphrates  intro- 
duces these  bound  angels  in  the  same  reminiscent  manner  in 
which  the  seven  angels  are  introduced  as  having  stood  before 
God,  the  change  of  phase  in  both  cases  being  determined  by 
the  same  method.  The  loosing  of  this  four  is  therefore  ex- 
plained, and  the  scope  of  the  characterization  shown  to  coin- 
cide with  that  of  the  great  tribulation. 

The  divine  restraint  with  respect  to  the  sealing  of  Israel 
ends  at  the  banks  of  this  great  Euphrates  River.  These  river 
demons  loosed  become  the  malevolent  agency  in  the  era  of  the 
great  tribulation,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  belongs  to  the  final 
phase  of  the  panorama.  The  picture,  like  that  of  the  sixth 
seal,  presents  only  the  dark  side  of  the  panorama,  which  ends 
with  the  same  picture  of  human  perversity  as  before.  The 
Counterpart,  to  follow,  will  bring  to  view  the  obverse  side,  and 
in  its  clear  lines  of  antithesis  will  pour  a  flood  of  light  among 
the  shadows  which  hang  over  the  bed  of  this  great  river  from 
which  these  angels  are  loosed. 

The  voice  that  calls  for  the  loosing  of  this  infernal  quadrate 
comes  from  the  governing  center  of  this  trumpet  series — 
the  golden  altar  where  stands  the  ministering  high-priestly 
Angel.  But  it  is  not  his  voice,  the  altar,  its  incense,  or  its 
fire  which  calls  for  this  loosing,  but  that  of  the  four  horns. 
Here  again  we  have  the  same  principle  which  rose  to  view 
in  connection  with  the  gift  of  the  key  that  opened  the  door 
of  the  pit.  It  certainly  would  seem  incongruous  for  Christ  to 
command  this  loosing  of  Satan  from  his  thrall.  This  voice 
being  thus  located  in  the  horns  of  the  altar,  its  meaning  must 
be  sought  by  a  study  of  their  ritual  significance  in  the  Levit- 


i8o  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

ical  code.  In  Exod.  30.  i-io  the  divine  directions  are  given 
with  respect  to  the  construction  of  this  altar  and  its  uses.  In- 
cense only  was  to  be  burnt  upon  it,  perpetually,  morning  and 
evening,  save  once  a  year,  when  it  became  the  receptacle  of 
another  most  impressive  offering,  which  was  made  not  upon  the 
altar  itself,  but  upon  its  four  horns.  This  is  the  fact  to  which 
allusion  is  here  made,  and  as  thus  united  to  this  incense  imagery 
it  floods  this  symbolism  of  the  divine  Restraint  and  Loosing 
of  Satan  with  a  brilliant  light. 

"Ye  shall  offer  no  strange  incense  thereon,  nor  burnt  sacri- 
fice, nor  meat  oft'ering;  neither  shall  ye  pour  drink  offering 
thereon.  And  Aaron  shall  make  an  atonement  upon  the  horns 
of  it  once  in  a  year  zuith  the  blood  of  the  sin  offering  of  atone- 
ments: once  in  the  year  shall  he  make  atonement  upon  it 
throughout  your  generations :  it  is  most  holy  unto  the  Lord." 

Hence  it  is  the  crimson  stain  upon  the  horns  of  this  golden 
altar,  significant  of  the  atoning  blood  of  the  cross,  that  be- 
comes the  active  agency  in  loosing  this  Satanic  four  which 
were  held  in  thrall  of  the  great  Euphrates.  If  the  reference 
here  is  to  the  real  blood  of  the  cross,  and  not  the  mystic, 
then  there  is  here  placed  in  our  hands  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant keys  for  the  unlocking  of  the  perplexing  millennial  sym- 
bolism. In  full  harmony  with  this  law  of  the  expanding  series, 
the  blast  of  the  seventh  trumpet  will  cause  a  more  clearly  devel- 
oped phase  of  this  same  truth  to  pass  before  us,  in  the  book 
of  the  Pneumatophany,  in  a  manner  which  will  carry  this  re- 
straint and  loosing  through  the  field  of  its  third  presentation, 
and  conviction  to  the  candid  reader  of  the  identity  of  the  theme 
in  each  case. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  the  writer  to  deal  with  the  many 
and  divergent  views  that  have  been  put  forth  with  respect  to 
the  significance  of  the  loosing  of  these  river  demons,  some 
wild,  some  amusing,  but  all  more  or  less  strained,  and  utter 
failures  so  far  as  giving  an  intelligent  adjustment  of  this  figure 
with  the  body  of  the  symbolism  is  concerned.    When  Apollyon 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  i8i 

becomes  Napoleon,  and  these  demons  Saracens  or  Turks  using 
gunpowder,  then  is  exposition  gone  daft. 

We  hear  this  altar  voice,  and  follow  the  line  of  action  in 
response,  to  see  these  four  bound  angels  loosed  from  this  great 
river,  and  are  startled  by  the  sight  of  twice  a  myriad  myriads 
of  these  demons,  breathing  smoke,  fire,  and  brimstone,  and 
killing  the  third  part  of  men.  We  get  no  glimpse  of  the  angels 
themselves.  They  are  not  as  yet  characteristically  presented, 
but  in  due  time  will  be.  Like  a  great  commander,  Four  Winds 
is  back  on  the  hilltops,  from  whence  he  directs  this  charge 
of  his  fiery  legions. 

There  is  no  need  that  we  be  told  where  these  river  demons 
originally  came  from,  nor  who  their  leader  is.  Any  respect- 
able evolutionist  will  haste  to  assure  us  that  their  ancestry  is 
lociistine.  Though  its  physical  features  are  still  uncouth  and 
horrifying,  its  power  more  terrible,  and  its  action  more  deadly, 
yet  it  is  evident  that  in  its  make-up  some  attention  has  been 
given  to  aesthetics.  The  more  incongruous  features  of  the 
locust  have  either  been  eliminated  or  softened.  The  locust 
monster  had  the  appearance  of  a  horse ;  here  the  qualifying 
phrase  is  dropped.  The  locust  had  the  head  of  a  man  with  the 
teeth  of  a  lion;  of  this  the  head  is  fully  leonine.  The  locust 
was  armored  with  seeming  iron;  these  are  triply  armored — 
with  fire,  jacinth,  and  brimstone.  The  locust  had  the  tail  and 
sting  of  the  scorpion ;  these  monsters  have  tails  like  unto  ser- 
pents and  heads  with  which  they  do  hurt.  The  fang  here 
supersedes  the  sting,  but  the  underlying  principle  is  the  same. 
The  locusts  came  from  hell;  these  carry  hell  inside  of  them. 
While  the  underlying  thought  is  clearly  that  of  intensifying 
the  figure  of  the  first  Woe  in  this  of  the  second,  preparing  the 
way  for  the  still  more  terrible  figure  of  the  third,  yet  the  most 
striking  point  of  differentiation  is  the  characteristic  fact  that 
hell  itself  here  becomes  active  in  their  fiery  breathings. 

These  characteristic  features  thus  delineated  show  that  in 
this  transformed  fiorure  we  have  this  same  "child  of  the  devil" 


i82  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

before  us  again,  as  the  Satanic  counterfeit  of  divine  truth, 
energized  and  intensified  for  its  infernal  office.  Falsehood  in 
itself  has  no  power  to  kill.  Its  sting  is  poison,  but  can  only 
torment,  though  the  poison  of  the  fang  may  become  deadly; 
for  the  power  of  the  monster  is  in  both  its  sulphurous  breath 
and  poisoned  fang.  The  picture  of  its  intensification  is  fur- 
ther enhanced  as  an  advance  upon  the  locust  in  the  fact  that 
it  has  a  rider,  who  guides,  controls,  and  uses  it  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  a  purpose.  As  metamorphosed  again  in  the  figure 
of  the  third  Woe  the  elasticity  of  this  feature  will  become 
apparent. 

The  breath  of  these  monsters,  which  does  the  slaying,  is 
symbolic  of  the  life  that  animates  them.  This  will  become  clear 
as  the  contrastive  symbolism  is  placed  in  position.  In  that  it 
will  be  the  breath  of  life  from  God,  as  in  this  it  is  the  breath 
of  death  from  Satan.  The  thought,  both  direct  and  con- 
trastive, relates  to  the  spiritual  and  not  to  the  natural.  The 
breath,  or  vitalizing  principle,  of  a  lie  is  the  devil  himself.  In 
contrast,  it  is  the  breath  of  the  Witnesses  that  slays  their  ene- 
mies. Of  God  himself  it  is  said,  "With  the  breath  of  his  lips 
will  he  slay  the  wicked."  The  fundamental  principle  here  char- 
acterized can  but  be  apparent,  though  there  is  confessedly  a 
deep  of  spiritual  casuistry  which  we  may  not  be  detained  to 
explore. 

The  riders  on  the  contrasting  great  white  cavalcade  are 
robed  in  righteousness,  a  redeemed  humanity.  Thus  the  riders 
here  are  rather  to  be  considered  as  human  than  as  demons. 

If,  as  has  been  intimated,  the  colors  in  the  Theophany  and 
the  emanations  from  the  throne  have  a  profound  spiritual  sig- 
nificance, then  it  may  follow  that  the  triads  disclosed  in  con- 
nection with  this  monster  may  also  have — a  possible  forecast 
of  what  will  later  appear  in  the  figures  of  beast,  false  prophet, 
and  dragon. 

The  number  of  these  demons  is  given  as  twice  a  myriad 
myriads.     While  this  symbol   is   confessedly  occult,   yet   its 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  183 

doubling  is  not  without  the  suggestion  that  the  augmentation 
of  the  power  of  Satan  in  this  loosing  of  the  angels  is  the  fact 
referred  to.  The  statement  that  they  killed  the  third  part  of 
men  by  their  sulphurous  breathings  must  be  understood  in  a 
spiritual  sense,  and  not  that  they  literally  killed  every  third 
man.  It  is  the  third  part  of  men  that  is  destroyed,  leaving  the 
two  parts  sunken  in  gross  idolatry  and  crime.  It  is  the  trichot- 
omy of  man  that  is  here  referred  to.  It  is  the  spiritual  in 
man  that  is  slain,  and  the  natural  that  becomes  grossly  idol- 
atrous and  corrupt  and  whose  finality  here  is  the  same  as  in 
the  seals,  that  of  impenitence.  The  ominous  shadings  here 
will  now  be  relieved  in  the  same  manner  as  before,  by  bringing 
upon  the  scene  the  antithetic  figures  of  the  Contrastive  Coun- 
terpart. 

The  six  trumpets  have  now  deployed  their  figures  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  seals.  The  contrastive  section  will  also  be 
squared  upon  the  same  lines,  save  with  this  marked  advance 
upon  one  of  its  features.  Instead  of  the  Angel  of  the  sunrise, 
with  the  seal  of  the  living  God  in  his  hand,  we  have  the  Angel 
of  the  Pneumatophany,  with  the  third  mystic  book  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse, which  will  deal  with  the  finalities  of  the  panorama. 

''And  the  four  angels  were  loosed,  which  were  prepared  for 
an  hour,  and  a  day,  and  a  month,  and  a  year,  for  to  slay  the 
third  part  of  men.  And  the  number  of  the  army  of  the  horse- 
men were  twO'  hundred  thousand  thousand:  and  I  heard  the 
number  of  them.  And  thus  I  saw  the  horses  in  the  vision,  and 
them  that  sat  on  them,  having  breastplates  of  fire,  and  of 
jacinth,  and  brimstone:  and  the  heads  of  the  horses  were  as 
the  heads  of  lions:  and  out  of  their  mouths  issued  fire  and 
smoke  and  brimstone.  By  these  three  was  the  third  part  of 
men  killed,  by  the  fire,  and  by  the  smoke,  and  by  the  brim- 
stone, which  issued  out  of  their  mouths.  For  their  power  is  in 
their  mouth,  and  in  their  tails:  for  their  tails  were  like  unto 
serpents,  and  had  heads,  and  with  them  they  do  hurt.  And  the 
rest  of  the  men  which  were  not  killed  by  these  plagues  yet 


184  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

repented  not  of  the  works  of  their  hands,  that  they  should  not 
worship  devils,  and  idols  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  brass,  and 
stone,  and  of  wood :  which  neither  can  see,  nor  hear,  nor  walk : 
neither  repented  they  of  their  murders,  nor  of  their  sorceries, 
nor  of  their  fornication,  nor  of  their  thefts." 

This  time  period  of  an  hour,  day,  month,  and  year,  as  a  quad- 
rate with  expanding  factors,  is  confessedly  occult.  It  doubt- 
less correlates  with  the  quadrate  expansion  of  its  subject  in  the 
body  of  the  book.  As  in  contrast  with  this  expansion  of 
Satanic  domination  we  have  a  septad,  a  triad,  and  a.  quadrate, 
each  graduated  upon  a  descending  scale,  as  though  to  mark 
the  descensus  averni  of  the  guilty  race ;  from  idols  of  gold 
to  those  of  wood,  which  have  neither  sight,  hearing,  nor  power 
of  movement.  Murders,  sorceries,  fornication,  and  thefts  mark 
the  results  of  their  "worship"  in  practical  Hfe. 

The  Second  Contrastive  Counterpart 

As  the  first  contrastive  section  followed  the  utterance  of 
the  sixth  seal,  so  this  follows  that  of  the  sixth  trumpet.  Its 
office  is  clearly  that  of  lifting  to  view  the  antithetical  side  of 
the  panorama,  carrying  its  issues  up  to  the  same  structural 
point  of  characterization.  The  structural  plan  of  the  trumpets 
being  the  same  as  that  of  the  seals,  we  are  justified  in  seeking 
for  the  same  lines  of  structural  correspondence  in  the  Counter- 
part. In  this  we  shall  not  be  disappointed.  These  antitheses 
are  clearly  projected  in  the  same  manner  as  before.  While 
this  is  so,  the  most  impressive  feature  of  this  section  by  far 
is  that  at  its  head  there  is  disclosed  the  third  glorious  divine 
epiphany,  that  of  the  Pneumatophany.  At  the  head  of  the 
Counterpart  of  the  seals  we  have  the  Angel  of  the  sunrise 
bearing  in  his  hand  the  seal  of  the  living  God.  Here  in  the 
same  structural  position  we  have  this  mighty  angel,  who  stands 
with  his  right  foot  upon  the  sea  and  his  left  upon  the  earth, 
presenting  not  now  the  seal,  but  an  open  book.  The  Israel 
which  he  has  sealed  are  now  concealed  within  the  inner  courts 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  185 

of  a  mystic  temple  whose  outer  court  is  desecrated  by  the  foot 
of  the  Gentile,  while,  with  an  enlarged  commission,  the  prophet 
of  God  is  sent  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  open  book,  the 
commission,  the  temple,  and  witnesses,  which  follow  in  their 
order,  are  all  features  which  are  fairly  aglow  with  light  with 
respect  to  the  leading  thought  of  this  contrastive  section.  And 
as  contrastive  it  floods  the  antithetic  section  with  light  which 
should  so  dispel  the  darkness  round  this  "cross  of  all  inter- 
preters" as  to  disclose  the  crown  of  exegetical  triumph. 

The  Pncumatophany 

Three  great  mountain  peaks,  resplendent  with  a  glory  that 
falls  around  no  other  single  figure  within  the  lines  of  these 
introductory  sections,  successively  lift  themselves  to  view  at 
the  head  of  the  three  grand  divisions  of  the  book  now  before 
us.  This  fact,  it  need  not  be  said,  presents  one  of  the  most 
important  as  well  as  most  impressive  features  of  our  study. 
The  Christophany  occurs  at  the  head  of  the  series  of  the 
Epistles  and  dominates  throughout  the  entire  field  brought  to 
view  in  their  characterizations.  The  Theophany  occurs  at  the 
head  of  this  involved  seal-trumpet  series,  and  holds  the  central 
ranking  position  in  the  presence  of  breaking  seal  and  trumpet 
blast.  At  the  head  of  the  series  of  the  Epistles  we  have  a 
composite  figure  representing  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  At 
the  head  of  the  Seal  series  we  have  in  the  symbols  of  the 
Lamb  and  seven  Spirits  a  metamorphosed  presentation  of  the 
same  personalities,  while  at  the  head  of  the  Contrastive  section 
we  have  the  Angel  of  the  sunrise,  whom  we  have  identified 
as  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  dignifying  his  own  especial  office.  At 
the  head  of  this  Trumpet  series  we  have,  as  in  perfect  harmony 
with  these  two  previous  metamorphoses,  the  figure  of  this 
high-priestly  Angel,  who,  by  the  office  he  performs,  is  clearly 
identified  as  Christ,  while  the  Seven  that  participated  with  him 
in  the  breaking  of  the  seals,  now  in  the  same  distributive  form, 
first  disclosed  as  they  flamed  as  lamps  in  the  presence  of  the 


i86  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

throne,  consistently  become  the  associate  executives  of  this 
officiator  at  the  golden  altar  in  the  presence  of  the  throne. 

The  structural  law  of  the  book,  as  well  as  the  symbol  that 
it  presents,  here  speaks  with  a  power  that  should  silence  all 
controversy  with  respect  to  the  divine  character  of  this  mighty 
Angel  whose  glory  now  suddenly  flames  at  the  head  of  this 
contrastive  section. 

The  reason  of  his  disclosure  is  the  same  as  that  which  is 
made  manifest  in  connection  with  the  two  preceding  epiph- 
anies. Each  produces  its  characteristic  book.  The  Third  Per- 
son of  the  Godhead  also  will  produce  his.  The  coinciding 
shafts  of  light  that  fall  around  the  figure  of  this  mighty  Angel, 
as  well  as  his  paraphernalia,  environment,  and  utterance,  all 
unite  to  stamp  him  as  divine.  But  if  divine,  and  the  doctrine 
of  the  coequality  of  the  distinct  Persons  of  the  Trinity  is  to 
hold,  then  we  must  recognize  in  this  figure  the  fact  of  a  Pneu- 
matophany.  It  would  be  an  unaccountable  procedure  for  the 
apocalyptist,  if  he  recognized  the  coequality  of  the  Spirit, 
after  giving  to  him  the  recognition  that  he  has  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  symbolism  up  to  this  point,  and  in  the  presence 
of  the  fact  that  both  the  Son  and  the  Father  have  been  dig- 
nified in  glorious  epiphany,  to  deny  unto  the  Spirit  like  recog- 
nition. To  my  mind,  nothing  could  be  conceived  as  adding 
stronger  support  to  the  teachings  of  Arianism  than  this ;  while, 
on  the  contrary,  nothing  can  be  conceived  as  more  whelmingly 
subversive  of  their  position  than  the  apocalyptic  disclosure  of 
this  mighty  Angel  clothed  with  the  vesture  of  Deity,  with  the 
brilliant  face  and  flaming  feet  of  the  Alpha  and  Omega  and 
crowned  with  the  Emerald  Glory  that  environs  the  eternal 
throne,  and  his  voice  backed  with  all  its  flaming  lightnings  and 
the  full  chorus  of  its  seven  thunders.  The  Apocalypse  here 
becomes  a  tower  of  impregnable  strength  in  support  of  trini- 
tarian  truth. 

With  the  facts  before  us  that  are  clearly  presented  through- 
out the  body  of  the  Scriptures,  relevant  to  the  essential  nature 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  187 

of  the  Deity,  these  postulates  are  made  to  stand  out  in  the 
clear :  ( i )  The  fundamentals  of  trinitarian  truth,  which  attest 
the  fact  of  three  Persons  in  the  Godhead  of  the  same  essence, 
power,  and  glory,  demand  that  the  divine  personality  and 
office  of  each  thus  distinguished  shall  have  equal  recognition 
in  a  book  of  the  scope  and  character  of  the  Apocalypse.  A 
Christophany  and  a  Theophany  demand  a  Pneumatophany. 
(2)  The  sublime  office  of  the  Spirit  with  respect  to  the  final 
Dispensation  demands  it.  (3)  The  plan  of  the  book,  in  its 
method  of  antithetic  contrasts,  demands  it.  And  here  at  the 
proper  structural  point  we  have  it.  The  central  figure  is  no  less 
resplendent  than  that  of  the  stars  and  candlesticks,  or  that 
which  flamed  above  the  billows  of  the  crystal  sea,  while  its 
paraphernalia  and  environment  are  as  lofty  and  impressive. 

We  have  seen  that  there  is  a  unique  and  mysterious  asso- 
ciation and  blending  of  symbols  in  each  of  these  transcendent 
epiphanies  preceding.  The  same  mystery  looks  out  upon  us 
here  from  this  same  mighty  deep  now  unveiled  in  the  Pneu- 
matophany. The  face  and  feet — the  only  parts  of  the  figure 
of  the  Angel  that  are  visible — are  those  of  the  Alpha  and 
Omega.  The  Christophany  is  crowned  with  the  snowy  em- 
blem of  eternal  years;  this  by  the  emerald  bow  borrowed  in 
the  same  way  from  the  eternal  throne.  It  is  robed  in  the 
clouds,  the  vesture  of  deity;  it  is  voiced  with  the  lionlike  roar 
of  Jehovah ;  with  one  of  its  flaming  feet  planted  upon  the  sea 
and  the  other  upon  the  earth,  and  with  one  hand  presenting 
the  final  opened  book  of  revealed  truth  and  the  other  lifted 
in  solemn  adjuration  with  respect  to  the  approaching  end  of 
time,  stands  this  whelming  figure  of  the  Pneumatophany. 

A  careful  study  of  the  gorgeous  paraphernalia  here  displayed 
will  evidence  the  fact  that  it  has  a  meaning  as  profoundly 
significant  as  its  robings  are  resplendent.  Like  the  falls  of 
Niagara,  which  continually  grow  upon  you  as  you  stand  within 
the  reverberation  of  their  thunder ;  like  the  Alpine  summits  that 
pierce  the  clouds  like  spires  and  domes  of  silver,  so  when  we 


1 88  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

get  the  proper  point  of  vision  will  we  be  whelmed  by  the 
unveiled  splendors  of  the  Pneumatophany. 

The  Pneumatophanic  Paraphernalia 

(1)  Its  divine  vesture: 

"And  I  saw  another  mighty  angel  come  down  from  heaven 
clothed  with  a  cloud." 

Clouds  are  the  vesture  of  Deity.  That  awful  majesty  divine 
that  shook  Sinai  with  its  thunder  was  concealed  from  mortal 
vision  by  its  robing  of  clouds.  The  angel  of  the  divine  pres- 
ence, given  as  Israel's  guide  through  the  lone  pathway  of  the 
desert  to  the  Promised  Land,  was  also  thus  arrayed — in  a 
pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  of  fire  by  night.  "Clouds  and  dark- 
ness are  round  about  him,"  says  the  psalmist,  while  "justice  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne."  In  the  vision  of 
Daniel  one  like  the  Son  of  man  came  with  the  clouds  of 
heaven  before  the  Ancient  of  Days.  At  the  Transfiguration 
"a  bright  cloud  overshadowed  them."  When  Christ  shall 
come  again  to  judge  the  world  it  will  be  with  the  clouds  of 
heaven.  In  the  third  contrastive  section  we  shall  behold  One 
like  unto  the  Son  of  man  seated  upon  a  cloud  with  a  golden 
crown  upon  his  head  and  a  sharp  sickle  in  his  hand,  as  the 
reaper  of  the  world-harvest.  The  cloud  symbol  is  used  in 
numerous  instances  in  the  Old  Testament,  but,  so  far  as  I 
have  been  able  to  determine,  always  in  harmony  with  the  prin- 
ciple of  association  manifest  here.  In  its  uses  in  the  New 
Testament  the  only  possible  exception  that  can  be  taken  arises 
out  of  a  misapprehension  of  the  meaning  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  Two  Witnesses  which  occurs  in  the  presence  of  this 
Pneumatophany.  That,  as  will  appear,  is  an  apotheosis  that 
is  in  every  way  powerfully  confirmatory  of  the  position  taken. 

(2)  His  emerald  crown,  of  the  Theophany: 
"And  a  rainbow  was  upon  his  head." 

This  symbol  also  belongs  exclusively  to  Deity.  As  first  set 
in  the  clouds  over  the  waters  of  the  retiring  deluge  it  was  the 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  189 

covenant  sign  between  God  and  the  earth.  It  is  a  profoundly 
significant  fact  that  throughout  the  entire  body  of  the  Scrip- 
tures there  are  only  two  other  instances  in  which  it  is  employed 
in  the  coronal  sense  as  in  the  whelming  picture  now  before  us : 
In  the  apocalypse  of  Ezekiel,  on  the  river  Chebar,  where  he 
beholds  One  seated  upon  a  throne,  concerning  whom  he  says, 
'This  was  the  appearance  of  the  likeness  of  the  glory  of  the 
Lord."  And  yet  he  immediately  adds  that  it  was  as  "the 
likeness  as  of  the  appearance  of  a  man  above  upon  it."  He 
beheld  a  rainbow  circling  his  head.  That  this  throne  is  Mes- 
sianic, and  the  personality  upon  it  the  God-man,  is  so  generally 
admitted  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  further  upon  this 
point.  The  figure  as  introduced  into  the  Apocalypse  from 
Ezekiel  serves  the  same  purpose  as  the  snowy  crown  from 
Daniel.  The  other  instance  of  its  use  as  an  aureole  is  in  the 
scene  of  the  Theophany,  where  it  appears  as  environing  the 
eternal  throne.  There  is  here  clearly  apparent  a  surprising 
deftness  in  the  handling  of  this  figure  by  the  apocalyptist.  Had 
the  bow  in  the  first  instance  been  placed  around  the  head  of  the 
figure  of  the  Christophany  and  again  around  that  of  the  The- 
ophany, and  finally  here  around  the  head  of  this  mighty  Angel, 
it  would  have  been  a  dull  mind  indeed  that  would  have  passed 
such  a  transparency  without  suspecting  the  presence  of  Deity 
concealed  in  the  figure. 

(3)   The  face  and  feet  of  the  Christophany: 

"And  his  face  was  as  it  were  the  sun,  and  his  feet  as  pillars 
of  fire." 

Is  the  cloud  the  vesture  of  Deity  and  the  bow  its  crown? 
The  face  which  now  dazzles  us  with  its  sunlike  brilliance 
is  that  of  Deity  itself.  It  is  that  of  Christ  as  disclosed  in  the 
Christophany.  It  is  a  most  impressive  fact  that  the  only  por- 
tions of  this  figure  that  are  disclosed  beyond  the  lines  of  the 
veiling  cloud  are  those  of  this  shining  face  and  burning  feet 
of  the  Alpha  and  Omega.  Then,  says  the  objector,  is  your 
law  of  solidarity  of  symbol  violated,  if  these  features  of  the 


iQo  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Christophany  are  here  transferred  to  another.  No;  it  is  one 
of  the  strongest  Hnks  in  the  chain  which  identifies  here  the 
personahty  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 
It  is  his  office  to  manifest  Christ.  "He  shall  not  speak  of  him- 
self." ''He  shall  glorify  me :  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine,  and 
shall  show  it  unto  you"  (John  i6.  14).  There  is  no  incon- 
gruity here,  but  a  most  impressive  characterization  of  the  fact 
of  the  Spirit's  oneness  with  Christ,  in  the  great  trinitarian 
mystery  of  the  Godhead. 

The  presence  of  the  Trinity,  as  has  been  observed,  is  recog- 
nized symbolically  in  both  the  Christophany  and  Theophany. 
Here  the  fact  that  the  emerald  glory  environs  the  head,  while 
the  robing  clouds  conceal  all  the  rest  of  the  body  save  its 
brilliant  extremities,  throws  into  symbol  the  great  scriptural 
truth  that  the  visible  glory  of  God  is  manifest  only  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ;  that  in  him  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of 
the  Godhead  bodily.  H  Christ  could  say  to  Philip,  ''He  that 
hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father,"  he  also  could  say  here, 
mystically,  with  equal  truth,  "He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen 
the  Holy  Ghost."  This  same  transcendent  fact  will  rise  before 
us  again  when  the  mystic  veil  is  lifting  in  the  finalities  of 
the  book:  "And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said.  Behold, 
I  make  all  things  new.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Write:  for 
these  words  are  true  and  faithful.  And  he  said  unto  me. 
It  is  done.  I  am  the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  beginning 
and  the  end.  I  will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of  the  foun- 
tain of  the  water  of  life  freely.  He  that  overcometh  shall 
inherit  all  things;  and  I  will  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my 
son"  (21.  5-7). 

(4)   The  open  book  of  the  Pneumatophany : 

"And  he  had  in  his  hand  a  little  book." 

In  both  the  Christophany  and  Theophany  a  divine  book  is 
presented.  It  is  an  additional  proof  of  the  divinity  of  the  fig- 
ure now  before  us  that  he  presents  the  third  and  final  book 
in  this  expanding  series  of  mystic  characterization.    The  author 


The  Book  of  the  TnEorHANY  191 

of  these  three  books  is  a  triune  Deity.  Are  the  books  them- 
selves triune?  We  shall  be  better  prepared  to  consider  this 
point  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Trilog}-. 

The  differences  with  respect  to  the  character  and  design 
of  these  three  books  are  a  part  of  their  instructive  office. 
They  are  all  a  part  of  the  one  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  and, 
as  stated  in  the  Introduction,  are  all  signified  to  John  through 
the  agency  of  this  divine  Angel  of  Jesus  Christ.  That  of  the 
Christophany  comes  in  figure  from  the  lips  of  Christ,  but  it 
is  articulated  by  the  Lingual  Sword.  The  book  of  the  Theoph- 
any  is  opened  by  the  Lamb,  yet  in  mysterious  combination 
with  his  personality  is  that  of  the  seven  Spirits.  Here,  again, 
it  is  the  Christophanic  hand  that  presents  the  book  of  the 
Pneumatophany,  while  the  robing  clouds  suggest  the  presence 
of  the  Eternal  Spirit.  The  book  now  presented  is  an  open 
one.  Its  method  of  enunciation  is  unique,  but  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  that  which  has  been  previously  employed  by  the 
inspirer  of  the  divine  Word. 

(5)  His  symbolized  omnipresence: 

"And  he  set  his  right  foot  on  the  sea,  and  his  left  foot  on 
the  earth." 

A  monstrous  figure ;  a  gigantic  colossus,  if  conceived  as 
characteristic  of  a  finite  being.  But  as  significant  of  the  omni- 
presence of  the  Holy  Ghost  it  is  both  apposite  and  compre- 
hensive. The  burning  feet  of  the  Christophany  walked  in 
the  midst  of  the  golden  candlesticks.  Here,  again,  in  this 
mysterious  figure  of  the  Pneumatophany  they  take  the  range 
of  the  terraqueous  globe. 

(6)  He  is  voiced  with  the  lion-roar  of  Jehovah: 

"He  cried  w^ith  a  loud  voice,  as  when  a  lion  roareth:  and 
when  he  had  cried  seven  thunders  uttered  their  voices. 

"And  when  the  seven  thunders  had  uttered  their  voices  I 
was  about  to  write:  and  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying 
unto  me,  Seal  up  those  things  which  the  seven  thunders 
uttered,  and  write  them  not." 


192  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

That  this  lion-roar  is  also  a  mark  of  Deity  is  abundantly 
sustained  by  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  Jeremiah  says: 
"The  Lord  shall  roar  from  on  high,  and  utter  his  voice  from 
his  holy  habitation;  he  shall  mightily  roar  upon  his  habita- 
tion; he  shall  give  a  shout  as  they  that  tread  the  grapes, 
against  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  A  noise  shall  come 
even  to  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  for  the  Lord  hath  a  controversy 
with  the  nations  [Gentiles]  :  he  will  plead  with  all  flesh.  .  .  . 
Thus  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  Behold,  evil  shall  go  forth  from 
nation  to  nation,  and  a  great  whirlwind  shall  be  raised  up  from 
the  coasts  of  the  earth.  And  the  slain  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
at  that  day  from  one  end  of  the  earth  even  to  the  other  end 
of  the  earth"  (Jer.  25.  30-33). 

This  paragraph  from  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiah,  which  by 
this  roar  is  correlated  with  this  scene  of  the  Pneumatophany, 
may  possibly  hold  the  clew  to  the  mystery  of  what  was  voiced 
by  the  seven  thunders.  Hosea  (11.  10,  11)  gives  us  a  parallel. 
He  says:  "They  shall  walk  after  Jehovah:  he  shall  roar  like 
a  lion :  when  he  shall  roar,  then  the  children  shall  tremble  from 
the  west.  They  shall  tremble  as  a  bird  out  of  Egypt,  and  as 
a  dove  out  of  the  land  of  Assyria."  Reference  here  is  to  the 
two  points  of  Israel's  captivity,  thus  giving  us  the  suggestion 
that  this  utterance  of  the  thunders  that  is  sealed  relates  to 
the  mystery  that  during  this  symbolic  characterization  in- 
volves Israel.  Joel,  in  dealing  with  the  fact  of  Israel's  uni- 
versal gathering  and  terrific  struggle,  adds  his  confirmatory 
word.  He  says,  "The  Lord  shall  roar  out  of  Zion,  and  utter 
his  voice  from  Jerusalem ;  and  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall 
shake;  but  the  Lord  shall  be  the  hope  of  his  people,  and  the 
strength  of  the  children  of  Israel"  (3.  16). 

Thus  we  find  that  in  every  instance  where  reference  Is  made 
by  the  prophets  to  this  lion-roar  It  Is  associated  with  the 
reclamation  of  the  people  of  Israel.  This  fact  will  rise  before 
us  In  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  where  Israel  again 
appears  wearing  Its   divine  seal.     What  the   seven  thunders 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  193 

uttered  was  intelligible  to  John,  and  he  could  have  written  it, 
but  was  commanded  to  put  the  seal  upon  it.  The  incident  has 
given  rise  to  endless  discussion  as  to  what  this  utterance  could 
have  been,  and  as  to  why  it  was  put  under  the  seal.  It  would 
seem  like  the  height  of  presumption  to  attempt  to  break  into 
a  secret  that  has  been  purposely  concealed. 

(7)  He  proclaims  the  coming  end  of  the  ages: 
"And  the  angel  which  I  saw  standing  upon  the  sea  and  upon 
the  earth  lifted  up  his  right  hand  to  heaven,  and  sware  by  him 
that  liveth  forever  and  ever,  who  created  heaven,  and  the 
things  that  therein  are,  and  the  earth,  and  the  things  that 
therein  are,  and  the  sea,  and  the  things  which  are  therein, 
that  there  should  be  time  no  longer:  but  in  the  days  of  the 
voice  of  the  seventh  angel,  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound,  the 
mystery  of  God  should  be  finished,  as  he  hath  declared  to  his 
servants  the  prophets." 

These  seven  paragraphs  fully  cover  the  ground  of  symbol 
and  utterance  of  the  Pneumatophany.  The  apocalyptist  him- 
self now  becomes  an  associate  actor  in  the  scene. 

It  will  be  observed  that  in  this  last  paragraph  there  is 
a  sub-seven,  indicating  the  completeness  of  this  Pneumato- 
phanic  voicing.  Solemn  indeed  is  the  adjuration  of  this  mighty 
Angel  as  he  stands  thus,  with  one  foot  upon  the  sea  and  the 
other  on  the  land,  with  his  right  hand  lifted  to  heaven.  It 
contains  four  great  generic  statements  of  truths  whose  invo- 
lutions are  simply  whelming.  They  take  the  sweep  of  the  ages 
and  of  the  greatest  truths  associate  with  them.  He  swears  by 
God  as  Creator.  Thus  he  asserts  the  great  fundamental  fact 
of  creation  itself.  Time  had  its  beginning,  when  worlds  and 
suns  arose  into  being  at  his  creative  command.  This  fact  pre- 
pares the  way  for  the  announcement  that  "time  shall  be  no 
longer."  He  who  ushered  in  has  power  to  usher  out.  He  will 
close  the  scroll  of  time,  fold  up  the  heavens  as  a  vesture,  or 
dissolve  them  before  the  glory  of  his  unveiled  face.     The 


194  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

mystery  of  God,  the  greatest  mystery  of  all  the  ages,  will  be 
finished.  God  is  not  the  unknowable.  Philosophies  that  have 
asserted  it  will  be  whelmed  in  confusion.  Finally,  divine 
revelation  will  be  sustained.  The  great  drama  of  the  world 
age  will  be  finished,  as  God  himself  has  declared  to  his  serv- 
ants the  prophets.  This  compels  the  candid  critic  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  this  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  is  to  be  pro- 
jected upon  lines  which  will  attest  the  veracity  of  the  prophets 
as  the  inspired  authors  of  the  book  of  divine  revelation. 

The  commentators  very  generally  admonish  us  that  this 
adjuration  is  not  to  be  conceived  as  coincident  with  the  final 
trumpet  blast  of  time.  Certainly  not.  Its  office  is  exponential 
with  respect  to  the  character  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatoph- 
any. Not  that  there  has  been  a  protracted  delay  with  respect 
to  the  finishing  of  the  course  of  time,  which  will  now  be  cut 
short,  but  that  under  this  blast  of  the  seventh  trumpet  final- 
ities will  be  reached.  Not  that  the  whole  series  to  be  unfolded 
can  by  any  possibility  be  finished  when  he  shall  begin  to  sound, 
but,  proleptically,  they  are  all  conceived  as  an  involution  of 
the  trumpet,  and  thus  are  finished  as  the  blast  projects  them 
into  the  apocalyptic  field.  The  structural  law  of  the  book  will 
here  assert  itself,  so  that  the  limitations  of  this  final  grouping 
may  be  clearly  apprehended.  This  fact  will  settle  a  most 
important  point  with  respect  to  the  character  of  the  final  great 
series  of  the  book,  the  Trilogy. 

The  Divine  Commission  for  the  Universal  Propaganda 
OF  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
"And  the  voice  which  I  heard  from  heaven  spake  unto  me 
again,  and  said.  Go  and  take  the  little  book  which  is  open  in 
the  hand  of  the  angel  which  standeth  upon  the  sea  and  upon 
the  earth.  And  I  went  unto  the  angel,  and  said  unto  him, 
Give  me  the  little  book.  And  he  said  unto  me.  Take  it,  and 
eat  it  up ;  and  it  shall  make  thy  belly  bitter,  but  it  shall  be 
in  thy  mouth  sweet  as  hone}^     And  I  took  the  little  book  out 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  195 

of  the  angel's  hand,  and  ate  it  up ;  and  it  was  in  my  mouth 
sweet  as  honey:  and  as  soon  as  I  had  eaten  it,  my  belly  was 
bitter.  And  he  said  unto  me,  Thou  must  prophesy  again 
before  many  peoples,  and  nations,  and  tongues,  and  kings." 

The  significance  of  this  symbolism  has  been  definitely  fixed 
in  Ezekiel,  who,  under  like  circumstances  and  with  like  re- 
sults, eats  the  roll  which  inspires  him  with  his  prophetic 
message  to  Israel.  The  universality  of  this  divine  commission 
will  rise  before  us  again  in  the  figure  of  the  angel  who  goes 
forth  with  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach. 

Reference  has  been  repeatedly  made  in  the  course  of  this 
study  to  the  fact  of  the  coincidence  of  this  angelic  symbolism 
with  like  voicings  of  the  Old  Testament.  As  a  possible  par- 
allel, or  anticipation  of  this  Pneumatophany,  attention  is 
directed  to  the  final  vision  in  the  prophecy  of  Daniel.  This 
is  upon  the  Hiddekel,  as  that  of  Ezekiel  was  upon  the  Chebar. 
He  says  (10.  5,  6)  :  "Then  I  lifted  up  mine  eyes,  and  looked, 
and  behold  a  certain  man  clothed  in  linen,  whose  loins  were 
girded  with  fine  gold  of  Uphaz:  his  body  also  was  like  the 
beryl,  and  his  face  as  the  appearance  of  lightning,  and  his 
eyes  as  lamps  of  fire,  and  his  arms  and  his  feet  like  in  color 
to  polished  brass,  and  the  voice  of  his  words  like  the  voice  of 
a  multitude."  The  paraphernalia  here  is  Christophanic.  But 
as  we  reach  the  end  of  the  vision,  and  begin  to  deal  with  final- 
ities, this  figure  upon  the  waters  of  the  river  takes  on  features 
which  belong  to  the  Pneumatophany.  The  final  scene  con- 
tains the  suggestion  of  trinitarian  truth:  "Then  I  Daniel 
looked,  and,  behold,  there  stood  other  two,  the  one  on  this 
side  of  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  the  other  on  that  side  of  the 
bank  of  the  river.  And  one  said  to  the  man  clothed  in  linen, 
which  was  upon  the  waters  of  the  river,  I  Tow  long  shall  it  be 
to  the  end  of  these  wonders?  And  I  heard  the  man  clothed 
in  linen,  which  was  upon  the  waters  of  the  river,  when  he 
held  up  his  right  hand  and  his  left  hand  unto  heaven,  and 
sware  bv  him  that  liveth  forever,  that  it  shall  be  for  a  time. 


196  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

times,  and  a  half;  and  when  he  shall  have  accomplished  to 
scatter  the  power  of  the  holy  people,  all  these  things  shall  be 
finished"  (12.  5-7).  The  reader  will  not  fail  to  note  that 
finalities  here  are  made  to  be  dependent  upon  the  scattering 
of  Israel. 

The  Groupings  of  the  Contrastive  Counterpart 
The  structural  law  of  the  book  at  this  point  demands  the 
placing  of  a  quadrate  in  the  foreground,  to  be  followed  by 
two  utterances  in  which  are  developed  the  antithetic  features 
of  the  contrastive  section.  It  is  an  unfortunate  fault  of  divi- 
sion that  both  the  trumpets  and  this  Counterpart  are  broken 
into  chapters  at  the  point  of  this  quadrate  voicing.  The  arbi- 
trariness of  captioning  here  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  both 
the  seals  and  its  associate  section  have  escaped  this  fate.  The 
whole  scene  of  the  Pneumatophany  and  the  groupings  follow- 
ing should  be  viewed  as  continuous.  Ambiguity  and  confu- 
sion are  needlessly  introduced,  by  some  expositors,  by  the 
complete  elimination  of  this  great  governing  figure  at  this 
point.  It  need  but  be  said  that  the  continued  presence  of  the 
figure  of  the  Pneumatophany  is  as  much  demanded  by  the 
method  of  the  book  as  is  either  of  the  other  epiphanies  with 
the  sections  with  which  they  stand  connected.  It  is  under  its 
hand  that  the  forces  and  factors  of  this  Counterpart  are  de- 
ployed into  the  field  of  action. 

(i)  a  temple  scene 

"And  there  was  given  me  a  reed  like  unto  a  rod:  and  the 
angel  stood,  saying.  Rise,  and  measure  the  temple  of  God,  and 
the  altar,  and  them  that  worship  therein.  But  the  court  which 
is  without  the  temple  leave  out,  and  measure  it  not;  for  it  Is 
given  unto  the  Gentiles:  and  the  holy  city  shall  they  tread 
under  foot  forty  and  tzvo  months/' 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  first  paragraph  of  the  Coun- 
terpart of  the  seals  dealt  with  the  sealing  of  the  twelve  tribes 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  197 

of  Israel.  Here  the  temple  of  God,  the  altar,  and  Israel  are 
measured. 

The  Angel  of  the  sunrise  personally  sealed  the  hosts  of 
Israel,  but  in  the  case  before  us  he  simply  places  the  divine 
yardstick  in  the  hand  of  John,  as  supplemental  to  the  gift  of 
the  book,  and  commands  him  to  measure  the  forces  that  are 
now  deployed  against  those  of  the  pit.  This  figure  of  the 
temple  as  the  antithesis  of  the  pit  marks  the  introduction  of 
a  most  important  factor  of  the  symbolism.  It  first  appears  in 
the  epistle  to  Philadelphia,  and  again  in  the  final  paragraph 
of  the  first  Contrastive  Counterpart,  again  in  the  text  before 
us,  and  later  among  the  exponents  at  the  head  of  the  book  of 
the  Pneumatophany.  It  will  also  perform  a  most  important 
office  in  the  third  contrastive  section  and  at  the  head  of  the 
series  of  retribution.  It  does  not  appear  in  the  fourth  Con- 
trastive Counterpart,  save  negatively.  John  says  of  the  holy 
city,  "I  saw  no  temple  therein."  The  cursive  importance  of 
this  symbol  demands  that  it  be  studied  with  the  greatest  care. 
As  the  antithesis  of  the  bottomless  pit,  whence  the  black 
legions  emerged,  it  begins  to  pour  its  light  into  this  obscure 
section  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  forces  of  light  are  environed 
by  the  temple  of  God,  and  are  not  to  be  numbered  like  the 
hosts  of  Apollyon,  but  simply  measured.  What  vast  reserve 
of  power  may  be  veiled  within  its  mystic  courts  we  may  not 
know,  nor  yet  the  full  mensuration  of  its  sacrificial  altar,  nor 
yet  of  the  host  that  are  occultly  recognized  as  within  its  inner 
courts,  which  by  implication  are  Israel.  For  if  the  outer 
court  is  given  to  the  Gentiles,  then  this  inner  court  of  the 
worshipers  must  contain  Israel  with  the  divine  seal  upon  their 
foreheads,  for  they  are  thus  occultly  introduced  into  the  anti- 
thetic picture  in  the  first  Woe.  The  power  of  the  temple  of 
God,  of  the  golden  altar,  with  its  incense  and  blood,  and 
Israel,  with  the  seal  of  God,  are  the  forces  which  take  the 
field  against  the  powers  of  darkness  and  sin. 

The  touching  of  these  three  points  by  this  divine  measuring 


198  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

rod  is  assertive  of  the  spiritual  character  of  the  forces  thus 
measured.  The  arrest  of  the  rod  before  the  temple  is  fully 
measured,  like  that  of  the  pen  with  reference  to  the  utterance 
of  the  seven  thunders,  is  suggestive  of  the  presence  of  some 
mystery  which  the  symbolism  is  not  as  yet  ready  to  disclose. 
The  question  asked  by  the  elder  in  the  presence  of  the  great 
white-robed  throng  shows  that  it  relates  to  Israel.  Here, 
again,  the  lines  of  this  great  tribulation  rise  before  us  in  the 
fact  of  the  gift  of  this  unmeasured  outer  court  to  the  Gentiles, 
and  the  fact  that  the  mystic  city  is  to  be  trodden  under  their 
feet  for  the  period  of  forty-two  months.  The  Gentiles  here 
are  introduced  as  the  positive  factors  in  the  case.  The  fact 
that  the  outer  court  of  this  great  temple  of  God  only  is  given 
to  them  fully  certifies  the  fact  that  the  inner  court  is  not, 
but  must  remain  in  the  possession  of  Israel.  They-,  then,  are 
the  unidentified  worshipers  within.  Here  we  have  a  bright 
flash  of  light  through  these  veilings  of  mysticism.  The  lines 
of  the  great  tribulation  rise  before  us  again  within  the  changed 
phase  of  this  symbolism  of  the  trumpets,  and  they  stand  out 
in  greater  clearness.  There  will  be  a  rounded  period  of  long 
duration,  during  which  there  will  be  a  division  in  the  great 
temple.  Its  outer  court  will  be  given  unto  the  Gentiles.  The 
fact  is  significant  of  their  inclusion  in  the  great  redemptive 
scheme.  They  have  their  chance,  but  never  penetrate  within 
those  inner  precincts  where  symbolized  sonship  and  priest- 
hood reign.  They  do  not  appreciate  the  holy  city,  but  tread 
it  under  their  feet.  How  they  will  do  it  will  be  thrown  upon 
the  screen  in  the  symbolism  of  the  third  Woe,  with  respect 
to  which  these  utterances  are  exponential. 

With  respect  to  the  significance  of  this  period  of  "forty-two 
months"  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  an  antithetic  half-seven.  This 
fact  should  have  been  sufficient  to  have  opened  the  eyes  of 
our  exegetes  to  see  that  the  problem  is  deeper  than  the  little 
sum  which  they  so  cleverly  work  out  by  the  rules  of  the 
practical  arithmetic.     The  number  touches  adverse  conditions. 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  199 

To  interpret  it  literally  as  standing  for  three  years  and  a  half 
is  puerility,  and  not  exposition.  The  fact  that  in  the  next 
section,  of  which  this  before  us  presents  the  exponential  lines, 
this  number  rises  again  into  visibility,  as  marking  the  full 
period  of  the  continuance  of  the  beast,  by  the  law  of  solidar- 
ity of  symbol  certifies  the  identity  of  the  periods,  which,  though 
presented  under  diverse  phase,  yet  relate  to  the  same  generic 
conception.  The  period  of  this  treading  down  of  the  holy 
city  under  the  foot  of  the  Gentile,  while  Israel  is  mysteriously 
within  the  secluded  interior  of  the  temple,  is  coincident  with 
the  lifetime  of  the  beast,  who  dominates  the  entire  earth,  tram- 
ples upon  all  that  is  held  sacred,  but  who  religiously  pene- 
trates no  farther  than  the  outer  court  of  the  temple  of  God. 
What  lies  beyond  the  confines  of  this  "forty-two  months"? 
The  prophets  with  one  accord  say  the  regathering  of  Israel 
from  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  in  the  triumph  of  the 
Messianic  kingdom.  Paul  says  that  when  this  time  of  blind- 
ness of  Israel  shall  have  passed,  which  he  calls  "the  times 
of  the  Gentiles,"  the  mystery  of  Israel  will  be  solved  and  all 
Israel  be  saved.  Our  Lord  himself,  in  his  great  Eschatolog- 
ical  Address,  which  I  shall  prove  employs  apocalyptic  sym- 
bol, says  that  Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  by  the  Gentiles 
"until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled."  Then  he  will 
send  forth  his  angels  and  gather  his  elect  from  the  four  winds, 
from  one  end  of  heaven  even  unto  the  other — perplexing 
mystery,  but  wonderful  harmony  in  every  utterance  that 
touches  this  subject. 

(2)  the  two  witnesses 
The  temple  scene,  which  occupies  the  leading  position  in 
this  antithetic  section,  is  followed  by  this  of  the  Two  Witnesses. 
The  structural  law  of  the  enunciation,  as  will  be  observed,  is 
the  same  as  that  of  the  first  contrastive  section  of  the  seals, 
in  its  (i)  sealing  of  Israel,  (2)  its  great  white-robed  throng. 
While  it  may  be  possible  here  to  emphasize  the  significance 


200  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

of  the  numeric  principle,  yet  it  will  be  probably  less  confusing 
if  we  deal  with  the  symbolism  in  the  aggregate,  in  the  same 
manner  as  that  of  the  white-robed  throng.  The  progress  of 
these  figures  across  the  panoramic  field  notes  three  distinct 
periods  or  conditions:  (i)  that  of  their  prophesying  in  sack- 
cloth; (2)  that  during  which  they  lie  dead  in  the  street  of 
the  great  city;  (3)  that  of  their  assumption.  Coincident  with 
which  there  occurs:  (i)  the  great  earthquake;  (2)  the  fall 
of  the  tenth  part  of  the  city ;  (3)  the  slaying  of  seven  thousand ; 
and  (4)  the  conversion  of  the  remnant  to  God.  The  first 
paragraph  introduces  the  Witnesses,  notes  their  abject  condi- 
tion, the  mystic  period  of  their  prophecy,  and  gives  their  char- 
acteristic identification,  as  follows: 

(i)  The  sackcloth  period:  ''And  I  will  give  unto  my  two 
witnesses  that  they  shall  prophesy  a  thousand  two  hundred 
and  threescore  days,  clothed  in  sackcloth.  These  are  the  two 
olive  trees,  and  the  two  candlesticks  standing  before  the  God 
of  the  earth.  And  if  any  man  will  hurt  them,  fire  proceedeth 
out  of  their  mouth,  and  devoureth  their  enemies:  and  if  any 
man  will  hurt  them,  he  must  in  this  manner  be  killed.  These 
have  power  to  shut  heaven,  that  it  rain  not  in  the  days  of  their 
prophecy:  and  have  power  over  waters  to  turn  them  to  blood, 
and  to  smite  the  earth  with  all  plagues,  as  often  as  they  will." 

(2)  Their  slaughter  by  the  abysmal  beast:  ''And  when  they 
shall  have  finished  their  testimony,  the  beast  that  ascendeth 
out  of  the  bottomless  pit  shall  make  war  against  them,  and 
shall  overcome  them,  and  kill  them.  And  their  dead  bodies 
shall  lie  in  the  street  of  the  great  city,  which  spiritually  is 
called  Sodom  and  Egypt,  where  also  our  Lord  was  crucified. 
And  they  of  the  peoples,  and  kindreds,  and  tongues,  and  na- 
tions, shall  see  their  dead  bodies  three  days  and  a  half,  and 
shall  not  suffer  their  dead  bodies  to  be  put  in  graves.  And 
they  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  rejoice  over  them,  and 
make  merry,  and  shall  send  gifts  one  to  another;  because 
these  two  prophets  tormented  them  that  dwelt  on  the  earth." 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  2oi 

(3)  Their  resurrection  and  ascension:  ''And  after  three 
days  and  a  half  the  Spirit  of  Life  from  God  entered  into  them, 
and  they  stood  upon  their  feet ;  and  great  fear  fell  upon  them 
which  saw  them.  And  they  heard  a  great  voice  from  heaven 
saying  unto  them,  Come  up  hither.  And  they  ascended  up 
to  heaven  in  the  cloud ;  and  their  enemies  beheld  them." 

(4)  Coincident  activity  of  the  underworld :  "And  the  same 
hour  was  there  a  great  earthquake,  and  the  tenth  part  of  the 
city  fell,  and  in  the  earthquake  were  slain  seven  thousand 
names  of  men :  and  the  remnant  were  affrighted  and  gave  glory 
to  the  God  of  heaven. 

"The  second  ivoe  is  past;  behold,  the  third  woe  cometh 
quickly/' 

The  punctuation  point  here  placed  in  position  demands  most 
careful  attention.  It  marks  one  of  the  most  important  divi- 
sions of  the  book,  positively  determining  the  fact  that  the 
lines  of  this  Pneumatophanic  Counterpart  coincide  with  those 
of  the  two  preceding  sections  of  the  adverse  side,  thus  deter- 
mining the  fact  that  the  loosing  of  the  river  angels  and  the 
great  earthquake  of  this  section  fall  to  the  same  structural 
point. 

The  Two  Witnesses — Identification  and  Office 
Recognizing  the  fact  of  the  figure  of  the  Pneumatophany 
as  still  regnant  within  the  plane  of  vision,  we  are  not  at  a  loss 
with  respect  to  a  point  of  reference  for  the  voice  that  intro- 
duces these  two  figures  as  "my  two  witnesses."  No  end  of 
trouble  has  been  given  to  the  expositors  by  the  fact  of  such 
words  as  these  upon  the  lips  of  an  angel :  for  what  right  has 
even  the  ranking  seraph  of  the  heavenly  hosts  to  use  them? 
Some  dismiss  the  angel  from  the  field  sequent  to  the  presenta- 
tion of  his  "little  book."  The  conception  here  entertained, 
however,  is  embarrassed  with  no  such  difficulty.  The  glorious 
figure  of  the  Pneumatophany  remains  regnant  throughout 
this  entire  section,  just  as  that  of  the  Christophany  does  within 


202  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

its  essential  field  and  as  that  of  the  Theophany  does  throughout 
the  entire  book. 

The  writer  will  certainly  be  excused  from  lumbering  his 
pages  with  the  mass  of  vagaries  with  respect  to  these  two 
figures  that  have  been  put  forth  in  the  name  of  exposition. 
Let  us  the  rather  proceed  directly  to  the  point.  The  contrast 
between  the  pit,  eruptive,  and  the  temple  under  Gentile  thrall 
has  been  noted.  It  is  the  figure  of  falsehood  that  rises  out 
of  the  sulphurous  smoke  of  the  abyss.  It  is  falsehood  intensi- 
fied in  its  action  that  rises  out  of  the  flood  of  the  great 
Euphrates,  where  the  bonds  of  the  river  angels  are  loosed. 
The  Witnesses  rise  to  view  as  the  divine  antithesis,  presenting 
in  symbol  the  inspired. truth  of  God.  It  would  have  been  an 
unaccountable  oversight  in  the  apocalyptist,  after  having  thus 
so  positively  photographed  falsehood  as  the  child  of  the  devil, 
not  to  have  drawn  the  lines  of  truth  equally  strong,  as  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  the  glorified  Personality  who  is  the  inspirer 
of  all  truth. 

We  may  note  as  we  compare  the  pregnant  symbols  associate 
with  the  figure  of  the  Angel  of  the  altar,  or  that  of  the  Lamb, 
with  this  of  the  Pneumatophany  that  there  is  the  finest  kind  of 
discrimination  with  respect  to  the  character  and  office  of  the 
two  figures.  In  the  one  the  dominant  thought  of  the  charac- 
terization is  redemption:  while  in  the  other  it  is  inspiration. 
Not  to  have  given  in  this  connection  mystic  recognition  of 
the  part  to  be  taken  by  the  inspired  truth  of  God  in  this  great 
world-conflict  would  have  been  to  have  ignored  one  of  the 
most  important  factors  of  the  mighty  struggle.  When  the 
imperative  nature  of  this  demand  is  perceived,  and  then  the 
method  of  personification  by  which  it  is  met  also  as  clearly 
apprehended,  then  the  darkness  which  here  surrounds  this 
"cross  of  all  interpreters"  gives  way  to  the  glory  of  an  Easter 
morning.  The  Lamb  of  God  gave  his  blood  as  a  ransom  for 
the  lost  race.  The  eternal  Spirit  gave  the  inspired  volume  of 
divine  truth. 


The  Book  of  the  TiiEoniANY  203 

Identification  of  the  Symbol 
We  arc  first  referred  to  an  occult  paragraph  in  the  prophecy 
of  Zechariah.  These  two  witnesses  are  easily  metamorphosed 
into  olive  trees  and  candlesticks,  standing  before  the  Lord 
of  the  earth.  The  reference  carries  us  back  to  the  period  of 
the  building  of  the  second  temple,  subsequent  to  the  Baby- 
lonian captivity;  another  fact  which  indicates  the  width  of 
range  with  respect  to  these  figures.  The  Ten  Tribes  of  Israel 
have  been  conquered  by  the  Gentile  power,  and  transported 
to  central  Asia.  Judah  also  has  met  a  like  fate  at  the  hands 
of  the  same  power.  A  meager  contingent  of  this  later  cap- 
tivity return  to  Jerusalem  to  rehabilitate  their  nation.  The 
walls  of  the  city  are  rebuilt,  and  a  new  temple  erected  upon  the 
old  site  upon  Mount  Moriah.  Two  persons  are  prominent  in 
this  restoration :  Joshua,  the  high  priest,  and  Zerubbabel,  the 
chief  executive  and  builder.  The  priest  is  clothed  in  vile  rai- 
ment, and  Satan  stands  at  his  right  hand  to  resist  him.  The 
chapter  ends  with  a  reference  to  the  coming  Messianic  day, 
when  the  iniquity  of  the  land  would  be  removed.  A  corner 
stone  is  laid  before  Joshua,  with  seven  eyes  upon  it — sym- 
bolism most  occult,  but  sufficiently  clear  to  suggest  mystic 
connection  of  some  sort  with  that  of  the  Spirit  in  connection 
with  the  Theophany.  Continuing,  the  prophet  beholds  a  golden 
candlestick,  with  seven  lamps,  and  seven  pipes,  and  two  con- 
nected olive  trees,  the  one  on  the  right  and  the  other  on  the 
left  side  of  the  bowl  which  received  their  oil  and  poured  it 
continuously  into  the  lamps.  The  prophet  asks  the  angel  for 
a  solution  of  the  meaning  of  the  symbols,  saying,  "What  are 
these?"  The  answer  given  is  most  suggestive  with  respect 
to  the  significance  of  the  apocalyptic  symbolism  now  before 
us:  "This  is  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto  Zerubbabel,  saying, 
Not  by  might,  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord" 
(Zech.  4.  6). 
Next,  a  point  of  contrast  is  instituted  between  this  figure 


204  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

and  that  of  the  demon  of  the  Euphrates.  It  breathed  forth 
*'fire,  and  smoke,  and  brimstone,"  with  which  the  third  part 
of  men  were  killed.  Fire  proceeds  from  the  mouths  of  these 
witnesses,  destroying  those  who  would  do  them  hurt.  The 
antithesis  here  is  so  apparent  that  it  need  not  be  argued  that 
the  slaying  in  both  cases  is  not  to  be  gauged  by  the  rule  of 
literalism.  They  are  further  identified  by  the  fact  that  ''they 
have  power  in  the  days  of  their  prophecy  to  shut  heaven  that 
it  rain  not,  and  to  turn  the  waters  into  blood,  and  to  smite  the 
earth  with  all  plagues  as  often  as  they  will." 

The  allusion  calls  up  the  celebrated  contest  of  the  prophet 
Elijah  with  the  prophets  of  Baal  in  the  time  of  Ahab,  and 
thus  in  mystic  language  identifies  "the  prophets,"  while  in  the 
same  manner  ''the  law"  is  identified  by  the  allusion  to  Moses 
turning  the  Nile  to  blood  and  the  smiting  of  Egypt  with  the 
plagues  associate  with  the  Exodus.  The  wide  scope  as  well 
as  retrospective  character  of  the  symbol  is  indicated  in  the 
fact  that  they  exercise  this  power  in  the  days  of  their  proph- 
ecy: in  the  one  case  fifteen  hundred  years  anterior  to  the 
days  of  John,  and  in  the  other  nearly  one  thousand.  But  the 
action  here  passes  from  the  individual  into  the  body  of  divine 
truth  as  a  characteristic  mystic  principle.  That  two  literal 
men,  Moses  and  Elijah,  or  any  other  of  the  prophets  of  God, 
will  reappear  upon  the  earth  and  exercise  the  powers  here 
portrayed,  and  pass  through  the  literal  experience  of  death  at 
the  hands  of  a  beast,  and  ascend  to  heaven,  is  too  absurd  a 
conception  to  be  entertained  for  a  moment  by  the  sane  expos- 
itor, in  the  presence  of  the  rational  and  consistent  principles 
here  laid  down. 

With  respect  to  the  time  period  associate  with  the  symbol 
expositors  divide.  Some  are  not  quite  sure  whether  we  are 
to  understand  a  literal  three  years  and  a  half  or  a  mystic 
period  of  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years,  taking  a  day  for 
a  year.  But  in  either  case  the  "problem"  as  thus  conceived 
does  not  rise  above  the  dignity  of  a  lesson  in  the  kindergarten. 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  205 

It  has  been  previously  stated,  in  connection  with  the  temple 
scene,  that  the  Gentile  foot  would  tread  down  the  holy  city 
for  the  period  of  "forty-two  months."  Both  these  periods 
will  reappear  in  the  opening  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatoph- 
any.  Clearly,  if  one  of  these  time  periods  is  taken  as  a  liter- 
alism, then,  by  parity  of  reasoning,  all  must  be  unless  some 
positively  differentiating  factor  shall  be  introduced  to  modify 
the  expression  of  the  symbol.  Conceive  of  these  "days"  as 
a  literal  three  years  and  a  half,  and  it  of  necessity  follows 
that  each  of  these  correlate  periods  must  be  given  the  same 
construction.  For  instance,  the  period  during  which  the  holy 
city  is  trodden  under  the  foot  of  the  Gentile  must  be  com- 
pressed into  a  mere  episode;  all  that  relates  to  the  rise, 
progress,  and  culmination  of  the  symbolism  that  develops  in 
connection  with  the  great  therion  of  the  sea,  inclusive  of  that 
relative  to  its  associate  figures,  the  false  prophet  and  the  great 
Babylonian  harlot,  must  in  like  manner  be  relegated  to  this 
momentous  three  years  and  a  half;  for  this  beast  slays  the 
witnesses,  enthrones  the  scarlet  monster  upon  his  back,  and 
carries  her  forward  to  world  domination,  and  must  accomplish 
it  all  in  the  trivial  space  of  this  three  years  and  a  half.  Again, 
at  the  head  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  which  imme- 
diately follows  this  section,  we  have  this  same  momentous 
period  as  marking  the  time  of  the  humiliation  of  the  sun-robed 
woman  in  the  jungles  of  the  wilderness,  during  which  her 
man  child  matures,  sheds  his  blood,  and  by  virtue  of  it  casts 
Satan  and  his  angels  out  of  the  celestial  realms  and  down  to 
earth,  where  in  great  rage  he  finishes  his  career  in  his  "short 
time,"  which  again  is  associate  with  that  of  the  woman's 
"time,  times,  and  a  half,"  or  another  momentous  three  years 
and  a  half.  All  these  great  issues  are  prophetic,  and  some  of 
them  unquestionably  historic,  presenting  a  body  of  associate 
fact  which  utterly  refuses  to  adjust  itself  to  the  literalistic 
conception  of  this  three  years  and  a  half.  It  clearly  belongs 
to  the  mystic  calendar  and  not  to  the  literal;  though,  in  all 


2o6  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

fairness  to  those  who  hold  to  a  Hteral  interpretation  of  these 
"days/'  the  period  of  the  development  of  the  law  and  the 
prophets  may  be  conceded  as  in  a  striking  manner  squaring 
with  the  deductions  of  this  year-day  theory.  McClintock  and 
Strong  give  the  date  of  the  Exode  as  B.  C.  1658,  and  the  close 
of  the  Old  Testament  canon  as  B.  C.  397,  or  1,261  literal 
years. 

The  Slaughter  of  the  Witnesses  by  the  Abysmal  Beast 
Commentators  at  this  point  by  common  consent  introduce 
a  confusing  and  unnecessary  anachronism.  In  violation  of  the 
contrastive  law  that  is  assumed  to  govern  the  development  of 
the  paragraphs  of  this  Counterpart  they  import  the  figure  of 
the  beast  of  the  third  woe,  not  yet  developed,  within  the  lines 
of  the  second.  While  it  may  be  conceded  that  all  the  beasts 
of  these  three  woes  are  one  essentially,  yet  they  are  not  char- 
acteristically. It  is  not  until  after  the  slaughter,  resurrection, 
and  ascension  of  the  witnesses  that  it  is  said,  "The  second 
woe  is  past,  and,  behold,  the  third  woe  cometh  quickly."  It 
is  in  the  coming  of  this  woe  that  its  most  terrible  beast  rises 
from  the  depths  of  the  sea  to  dominate  the  issues  of  the  book 
of  the  Pneumatophany,  as  his  predecessors  do  from  the  abyss 
and  the  waters  of  the  great  Euphrates,  as  the  correlates  of 
the  issues  here  thrown  upon  the  passing  screen.  While  no 
chronological  difficulty  need  be  conceived  as  interposing 
against  the  importing  of  the  monster  of  the  third  woe  as  a 
factor  of  the  second,  yet  such  a  course  would  vitiate  the  con- 
trastive method  by  destroying  the  integrity  of  the  apocalyptic 
symbols.  The  beast  that  emerges  from  the  opened  door  of 
the  abyss  is  the  locust  demon,  which  will  metamorphose  in 
the  development  of  the  figures  of  the  antitrinity,  but  is  not 
yet  to  be  conceived  as  invested  with  the  heads  and  horns  of  the 
monster  of  the  sea. 

A  weighty  objection  against  this  identification  of  the  locust 
demon  may  be  interposed  in  the  fact  that  it  was  not  endowed 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  207 

with  power  to  kill,  but  simply  to  torment.  This  fact  serves 
the  rather  all  the  more  definitely  to  establish  the  lines  of  antith- 
esis. The  lion  monster  of  the  Euphrates,  an  evolution  of  that 
of  the  abyss,  and  which  as  the  finality  of  this  trumpet  series 
stands  structurally  over  against  the  witnesses,  did  have  the 
power  to  kill— by  its  sulphurous  breath;  a  fact  which  in  a 
striking  manner  correlates  with  the  counter  activity  of  the 
witnesses,  who  also  slay  their  enemies  by  the  fire  that  pro- 
ceedeth  out  of  their  mouth.  Thus  far  the  leading  figures  of 
the  panorama  have  been  those  of  the  Holy  Trinity.  The 
metamorphic  principle  so  clearly  discernible  with  respect  to 
them  forecasts  the  same  method  with  respect  to  the  develop- 
ment of  symbolism  relative  to  the  antitrinity.  In  the  triad 
of  the  trumpets  this  antitrinity  rises  to  view:  (i)  Apollyon, 
as  the  king  infernal;  (2)  the  demons  of  the  abyss;  (3)  the 
demons  of  the  Euphrates.  In  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany, 
metamorphosed,  they  become  the  leading  factors,  and  are 
presented  in  the  fullness  of  their  mystic  infernality,  as  (i)  the 
dragon,  (2)  the  beast,  (3)  the  false  prophet.  In  the  Trilogy 
this  monster  of  the  third  woe  is  disclosed  as  rising  from  the 
abyss ;  but  as  the  correlate  fact  there  is  the  loosing  of  Satan 
no  difficulty  whatever  arises  with  respect  to  the  adjustment 
of  the  fact.  His  arising  out  of  the  pit  is  but  a  correlate  of 
the  loosing  of  Satan  himself,  the  picture  given  showing  that 
the  short  period  of  his  great  rage  in  the  earth  is  associated 
with  the  fearful  career  of  the  monster  in  scarlet  who  is  en- 
throned in  state  upon  his  back.  The  contrast,  then,  must  be 
understood  as  between  the  witnesses  and  the  lion  of  the 
Euphrates — two  against  two  hundred  millions. 

The  more  closely  we  interrogate  these  symbols  the  more 
clearly  will  the  consistency  of  their  contrastive  adjustment 
appear.  It  was  not  falsehood  in  the  abstract  which  took  this 
victory  over  the  truth  of  God ;  neither  was  it  accomplished  by 
the  governmental  figure,  however  Satanic,  next  to  appear.  It 
is  in  this  phase  of  its  evolution,  that  voices  corruption  and 


2o8  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

whose  antithesis  is  the  figure  of  the  false  prophet,  that  we 
find  the  power  that  took  this  mahgn  triumph. 

It  was  after  they  had  finished  their  testimony  that  they  were 
slain.  This  fact  brings  the  mystic  point  of  this  slaughter 
within  our  apprehension.  The  name  of  the  great  city  in 
whose  street  their  bodies  lie  dead  is  not  given  literally, 
but  spiritually,  as  (i)  Sodom,  which  stands  for  beastliness; 
(2)  Egypt,  suggestive  of  slavery;  and  (3)  the  place  where  our 
Lord  was  crucified,  suggestive  of  the  culminating  point  of 
this  degeneracy.  The  allusion  to  the  fact  of  the  crucifixion 
would  seem  to  carry  the  mystic  point  of  this  slaughter  up  to 
the  beginning  of  the  gospel  age.  The  three  days  and  a  half 
during  which  their  dead  bodies  lie  unburied  is  an  adverse 
apocalyptic  diminutive,  marking  a  period  relatively  short  in 
comparison  with  the  three  years  and  a  half  of  their  prophecy. 
Mysticism  here  is  powerfully  illumined  by  historic  fact.  Vo- 
luminous proof  can  be  adduced  with  respect  to  the  fact  of  the 
lifeless  condition  of  the  law  and  the  prophets  at  the  time  of 
Christ.  His  own  testimony  is  sufficient.  They  had  been  made 
of  none  effect,  as  far  as  the  Jews  themselves  were  concerned, 
while  they  had  utterly  failed  to  arrest  the  downward  mo- 
mentum of  the  heathen  world.  God's  truth  was  dead,  while 
the  false  prophet  was  rampant  in  the  earth. 

.  The  intent  of  this  infernal  power  that  had  thus  slaughtered 
the  truth  of  God  was  to  give  it  speedy  sepulture.  But  here 
again  a  strange  interposition.  The  great  quadrate  of  human- 
ity— peoples,  kindreds,  tongues,  and  nations — prevent  the 
burial.  It  multiplies  the  embarrassment  of  the  literalist  when 
he  is  asked  tO'  explain  how,  in  a  short  three  days  and  a  half, 
this  great  quadrate  of  the  globe  should  be  able  to  fix  its  eyes 
upon  the  street  of  this  city  and  so  act  in  concert  as  to  inter- 
dict the  burial  of  these  two  dead  bodies.  What  care  the  Hot- 
tentots and  Chinese  about  the  funeral  of  two  dead  men  who 
in  their  lifetime  went  about  killing  people  by  breathing  forth 
fire?    The  world  was  jubilant  over  their  death,  and  celebrated 


The  Book  oi^  the  Theophany  209 

it  by  the  exchange  of  presents.  Great  was  the  joy  over  the 
fact  that  these  troublesome  prophets  were  no  more ;  for  they 
had  tormented  all  that  dwelt  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  The 
veil  of  mysticism  here  is  very  thin.  God's  truth  has  ever  held 
torment  for  the  transgressor,  and  he  would  be  glad  to  see  it 
not  only  dead  in  the  street  of  his  great  world  city  but  put  out 
of  sight  forever.  The  cry  of  a  Godless  world  has  ever  been, 
"Prophesy  not  unto  us  right  things ;  prophesy  unto  us  smooth 
things."  These  prophets  had  no  smooth  things  to  prophesy 
in  Sodom  and  Egypt,  and  to  the  people  whose  hands  were 
red  with  the  blood  of  their  Lord  their  word  was  torment,  and 
the  fiery  blast  of  their  lips  meant  death  to  their  enemies.  The 
mystic  photograph  that  is  here  drawn  is  true  to  life.  Just 
such  a  jubilee  would  break  forth  in  the  streets  of  our  great 
world  city  could  the  lips  of  all  God's  witnesses  be  silenced  in 
death  forever.  But  this  body  of  dead  truth  has  not  finished 
its  mission.  It  is  thus  unaccountably  preserved  for  a  future 
and  glorious  triumph  over  all  its  foes. 

The  Resurrection  of  the  Witnesses 
World  rejoicing  on  this  momentous  occasion  is  of  short 
duration.  It  is  suddenly  interrupted  by  a  startling  resurrec- 
tion and  glorious  apotheosis  of  these  bodies  that  have  lain  for 
three  days  and  a  half  in  the  dust  of  the  street,  where  they 
went  down  before  the  sulphurous  blast  of  death.  The  sublime 
figure  of  the  Pneumatophany  continues  in  the  perspective. 
They  are  still  his  witnesses,  though  their  voices  are  silenced 
in  death.  It  is  life  from  him  that  enters  into  them  and  lifts 
them  once  more  to  their  feet.  A  great  voice  from  heaven 
calls,  "Come  up  hither ;"  and,  enwrapped  in  the  glorious  rob- 
ings  of  the  Pneumatophany,  they  ascend  to  that  deathless 
realm  where  the  martyrs  for  God  and  truth  are  safe  for  ever- 
more. Behind  this  mystic  resurrection  is  the  literal  resurrec- 
tion of  our  Lord.  Behind  this  associate  descent  of  the  breath 
of  life  from  the  Eternal  Spirit  is  the  pentecostal  effusion.     It 


2IO  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

is  these  sublime  historic  facts  that  vitaHze  the  law  and  the 
prophets  and,  from  the  standpoint  of  Patmos,  place  them  in 
that  exalted  position  before  the  world  which,  if  it  could  only 
be  clearly  discerned  by  the  destructive  critic,  would  be  as 
discouraging  to  him  as  it  is  distressing  to  the  devil.  The  pic- 
ture here  presented  is  as  assuring  as  it  is  impressive.  Truly 
the  law  and  the  prophets,  as  vitalized  in  the  Christian  dispensa- 
tion are  in  no  immediate  danger  of  being  overthrown  if,  as 
the  apocalyptist  saw,  they  are  thus  securely  enfolded  in  the 
celestial  robings  of  Him  who  inspired  them,  gave  them  their 
mission,  and  such  an  apotheosis  as  this  which  here  passes 
upon  the  mystic  scroll. 

The  Great  Earthquake  . 
In  the  terse  paragraph  which  closes  this  Contrastive  Counter- 
part we  have  a  most  important  statement ;  one  which,  if  prop- 
erly heeded  and  apprehended,  will  fix  the.  point  of  mystic 
chronology  now  reached  by  the  unfolding  apocalyptic  scroll, 
as  it  will  also  notify  us  that  the  details  of  this  symbol  are  now 
at  the  threshold  of  characterization.  In  the  sixth  and  terminal 
paragraph  of  the  seals  this  great  earthquake  first  rises  to  view, 
as  the  introductory  factor  of  a  sevenfold  series  which  courses 
from  this  point  onward  to  the  end  of  the  mighty  drama.  At 
the  head  of  the  trumpet  series  it  quadrates  the  chief  divisional 
exponent  of  the  book,  becoming  the  additional  factor  of  the 
throne  voicings.  The  fact  of  its  being  thus  introduced,  to- 
gether with  a  proper  appreciation  of  its  exponential  office, 
determines  the  fact  that  the  series  thus  governed  will  deal 
with  this  factor  though  put  forth  in  metamorphic  guise.  We 
pass  forward  to  the  sixth  and  terminal  paragraph  of  the 
trumpets,  where  it  is  structurally  due,  and  we  find  instead  of  a 
great  earthquake  the  loosing  of  the  four  river  angels  and  the 
sequence  of  the  monster  of  sulphurous  breath,  structurally 
antithetic  to  this  final  paragraph  of  the  counterpart  which 
deals  with  the  witnesses.     Care  is  taken  here  to  prevent  the 


The  Book  of  the  Theophany  211 

misconception  of  a  paragraph  as  sequent  to  this  terminal  one 
of  the  witnesses,  thus  confusing  the  structural  Hues.  The 
great  earthquake  is  to  he  understood  as  a  part  of  the  witness 
paragraph,  occurring  in  ''the  same  hour/'  and  thus  is  made 
scenicahy  associate  with  it.  The  "hour"  here  is  not  hteral, 
but  apocalyptic ;  not  to  be  construed  so  much  as  a  sequence 
of  the  apotheosis  of  the  witnesses  as  of  import  coincident  with 
the  development  of  the  symbolism  associate  with  them. 

The  symbolism  as  thus  placed  in  this  antithetic  or  con- 
trastive  light  yields  these  synthetic  results :  ( i )  The  divine 
restraint  of  the  four  winds  is  significant  of  the  binding  of 
Satan.  (2)  In  the  following  paragraph  the  great  tribulation 
coincides  with  the  period  of  his  loosing.  Under  the  trumpets 
divine  restraint  is  put  upon  the  monster  that  arises  from'  the 
abyss;  and,  again,  in  the  sequent  paragraph  restraint  is  re- 
moved in  the  loosing  of  the  river  angels,  and  the  deluge  which 
follows.  This  loosing  of  the  bound  four  of  the  trumpets 
points  back  to  the  restrained  four  of  the  seals.  The  great 
earthquake  occupying  the  same  structural  ground  is  thus  seen 
to  coincide  with  Satan's  loosing  in  the  earth.  Again  we  are 
carefully  guarded  here  against  confusing  the  structural  lines 
of  the  symbolism  by  conceiving  of  this  earthquake  symbol  as 
giving  us  a  supplemental  paragraph.  It  is  to  be  construed 
as  a  part  of  the  witness  section,  occurring  in  "the  same 
hour";  not  a  mere  episode,  but  divisible  into  a  quadrate  that 
in  an  exponential  sense  anticipates  the  great  world  issues  that 
are  associate  with  it  and  which  will  be  detailed  in  the  com- 
ing book  of  the  Pneumatophany :  (i)  The  great  earthquake. 
(2)  The  tenth  part  of  the  city  falls — popularly  understood  as 
relating  to  Babylon ;  but  this  is  inadmissible  in  the  presence 
of  the  fact  that  this  figure  has  not  yet  been  introduced  and 
therefore  cannot  be  consistently  placed  in  contrastive  position. 
The  "city"  of  this  section  is  the  holy  city,  whose  fallen  con- 
dition is  signalized  in  its  treading  down  by  the  Gentile  foot, 
the  contrast  being  established  in  the  fact  that  in  taking  up 


212  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

this  earthquake  symbol  characterization  passes  to  the  reverse 
side  of  the  series.  (3)  In  the  earthquake  are  slain  "seven 
thousand  names  of  men,"  a  correlate  of  the  slaying  of  the 
one  third  of  men  by  the  monster  of  the  Euphrates.  In  the 
antithetic  picture  which  characterizes  the  activity  of  this  mon- 
ster the  number  slain  is  given  as  one  third,  employing  the 
same  reciprocal  that  elsewhere  dominates  the  trumpet  sym- 
bolism. Here  in  contrastive  setting  the  number  rises  from 
this  reciprocal  to  that  of  the  dominating  integer  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse as  multiplied  into  the  cube  of  the  universal  secular 
number.  The  change  in  the  method  of  numeric  expression 
is  in  harmony  with  a  recognized  law.  (4)  "The  remnant 
were  affrighted,  and  gave  glory  to  the  God  of  heaven."  The 
picture  which  here  rises  before  the  eye  of  the  literalist  is  that 
of  an  earthquake  that  shakes  down  one  tenth  of  some  great 
city,  its  action  resulting  in  the  death  of  seven  thousand  of 
its  inhabitants,  while  all  those  that  escape,  afifrighted  by  the 
terrible  visitation,  give  glory  to  God.  But  this  "remnant" 
is  one  of  the  important  factors  of  the  symbolism.  We  meet 
it  in  the  epistles,  and  it  will  reappear  in  the  opening  section 
of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  as  the  remnant  of  the  seed 
of  the  woman  with  whom  the  dragon  goes  to  make  war.  It 
is  the  "remnant  of  Israel"  which  the  Hebrew^  prophet  beholds 
in  the  distant  Messianic  age  as  returning  to  God.  As  con- 
trastive here  it  stands  over  against  the  fearful  picture  of 
impenitence,  with  which  the  sixth  seal  and  sixth  trumpet  end, 
and  is  harmonious  with  that  scene  of  blessedness  which,  at 
the  close  of  the  first  Contrastive  Counterpart,  characterizes 
redeemed  Israel  as  under  the  lead  of  the  Lamb. 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  PNEUMATOPHANY 

"  And  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep.  And  the  Spirit  of 
God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.  And  God  said,  Let  there  be 
light:  and  there  was  Hght." — Gen.  i.  2,  3. 

The  three  grand  divisions  of  the  Apocalypse  now  passed  in 
review  have  presented  as  their  central  figures  three  transcend- 
ent epiphanies  of  the  personalities  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and 
in  the  hand  of  each  a  mystic  book  which  in  an  especial  sense 
relates  to  the  development  of  features  which  are  associate 
with  their  character  and  office.  The  book  of  the  Christophany 
consists  of  a  series  of  a  single  seven — the  epistles.  That  of  the 
Theophany  is  profoundly  involved  as  a  triunity,  consisting  of 
three  sevens  linked  together  in  an  expanding  series.  The 
book  itself,  primarily,  is  that  of  the  seven  seals  upon  the  hand 
of  the  Eternal  Father.  In  its  expansion  it  includes  the 
trumpets  as  the  utterance  of  the  seventh  seal,  and  this  book  of 
the  Pneumatophany  as  that  of  the  seventh  trumpet.  The  fact 
of  triunity  which  is  here  so  impressively  expressed  will  rise  be- 
fore us  again  in  the  structure  of  the  retributive  section  of 
the  book,  thus  presenting  whelming  proof  of  unity  there  as 
here.  That  these  two  sections  (chapters  12,  13)  comprise 
the  subject-matter  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  is  fully 
determined  by  the  law  of  precedent  already  established.  The 
book  itself  appears  as  open  in  the  hand  of  the  Pneumatophanic 
figure.  As  mysteriously  incorporated  within  the  personality 
of  the  apocalyptic  amanuensis  it  unfolds  its  content  in  these 
sections  which  follow,  and  thus  mystically  enables  him  to 
fulfill  the  divine  command  to  prophesy  before  the  universal 
quadrate. 

Not  only  in  this  deployment  of  symbol  is  equal  dignity 
accorded  the  person  of  the  Eternal  Spirit,  but  the  subject- 


214  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

matter  of  his  book  is  thus  shown  to  be  of  commensurate 
importance.  By  the  especial  iUumination  of  four  masterful 
figures  it  adds  the  quadrate  to  the  sublime  triad  of  epiphanies 
already  before  us,  thus  completing  a  great  seven  as  the  lead- 
ing dramatis  personce  of  the  entire  apocalyptic  symbolism. 
These  factors  are:  (i)  a  resplendent  woman,  disclosed  in  the 
heavenly  spaces,  robed  in  sunlight,  crowned  with  stars,  with 
the  moon  under  her  feet,  and  as  travailing  in  the  pangs  of 
maternity;  (2)  face  to  face  with  her,  as  though  withheld  from 
the  dignity  of  separate  epiphany,  stands  her  malign  antag- 
onist in  the  person  of  a  great  fire-colored  dragon,  having 
seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  who  with  the  swish  of  his  tail 
sweeps  one  third  of  the  stars  from  the  sky  (see  9.  18);  (3)  a 
seven-headed,  ten-horned  beast  arises  from  the  sea,  and  be- 
comes dominant  in  all  the  earth;  (4)  closely  joined  as  an 
infernal  adjuvant,  a  two-horned  beast  rising  out  of  the  earth 
unveils  the  horrid  features  of  the  third  Woe,  and  thus  fully 
introduces  the  adverse  imagery  of  the  book.  The  third  Con- 
trastive  Counterpart,  which  follows  in  harmonious  structural 
order,  will  again  bring  up  the  correlate  wing  of  the  symbolism. 
The  retributive  division  of  the  Apocalypse  which  follows  will 
add  no  new  figure,  but  only  the  metamorphoses  of  this 
great  seven,  as  the  passing  scroll  of  the  panorama  succes- 
sively, and  consistently,  changes  or  modifies  its  characteristic 
expression. 

The  Scope  of  the  Seventh  Trumpet 
It  is  of  vital  importance  to  our  study  that  this  point  be 
cleared  of  all  ambiguity,  if  possible,  before  we  enter  upon  the 
study  of  the  details  of  the  book  itself.  Upon  this  will  depend 
the  position  to  be  taken  with  respect  to  the  Retributive  Trilogy 
that  follows. 

It  is  held  by  some  commentators  of  the  first  rank  that  the 
series  of  seals,  trumpets,  and  vials  are  all  linked  together  in 
the  expanding  order  noted  above,   thus  completely  ignoring 


The  Book  of  tub  Pneumatophany  215 

this  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  and  passing  forward  the 
expansion  of  the  seventh  trumpet  to  the  series  of  the  vials. 
A  better  acquaintance  with  the  office  of  the  exponents  which 
we  shall  find  placed  in  position  at  the  head  of  these  individual 
series  will  be  sufficient  to  correct  this  mistake. 

Sequent  to  the  blast  of  this  trumpet  we  find  a  readjustment 
of  the  staging,  the  introduction  of  a  new  governing  factor, 
and  a  new  series  of  exponents,  the  final  one  of  which — the 
Concerted  Throne  Voicings — serves  as  the  marking  of  the 
grand  divisions  of  this  celestial  series  of  the  book.  The  vials, 
assuredly,  are  not  the  expansion  of  one  of  the  trumpets,  but 
will,  as  under  exponents  of  their  own,  retrace  the  lines  of  all  the 
trumpets  as  their  whole  great  field  is  swept  by  the  fiery  storm 
of  divine  retribution. 

The  office  of  the  seventh  trumpet  is  that  of  introducing 
the  symbolism  of  the  third  Woe.  This,  as  the  seventh  utter- 
ance of  the  Trumpet  series,  carries  its  symbolism  up  to  its 
generic  terminal  point.  Before  introducing  the  horrifying 
figures  of  the  Woe  itself  the  perspective  is  filled  w4th  a  full 
group  of  sevens,  which  fact,  as  will  be  observed,  repeats  the 
structural  features  of  the  book  of  the  Theophany  in  this  now 
under  review.  Such  refinements  as  these  at  first  glance  may 
seem  most  complex ;  but  as  they  are  mastered  they  reveal  the 
wondrous  harmony  of  the  apocalyptic  plan.  Thus  the  estab- 
lishing the  lines  that  determine  the  scope  of  this  perspective 
will,  in  harmony  with  the  structural  law  of  the  book,  also 
establish  those  of  this  sequent  section  which  presents  the  Woe 
itself. 

Introductory  Features  of  the  Book  of  tpie 

Pneumatophany 

At  this  point  we  are  again  met  with  an  unfortunate  division 

which  breaks  into  the  continuity  of  the  theme.     The  seventh 

seal  having  been  selected  as  the  starting  point  of  a  new  series, 

it  is  difficult  to  understand  whv  the  same  rule  should  not  have 


2i6  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

been  followed  with  respect  to  this  seventh  trumpet.  To  have 
done  so  would  have  been  significant  of  some  sense  of  per- 
ception of  the  structural  symmetry  of  the  apocalyptic  plan. 
The  proper  place  for  captioning  is  at  the  terminal  point  of 
the  second  Woe.  This  places  all  the  introductory  utterances 
at  the  head  of  the  series  with  which  they  are  to  be  construed. 

The  Final  Blast  of  the  Trumpets 
"And  the  seventh  angel  sounded;  and  there  followed  great 
voices  in  heaven,  and  they  said,  The  kingdom  of  the  world  is 
become  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ:  and  he 
shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 

Whether  these  voices  proceed  from  the  throne  or  elsewhere 
is,  perhaps,  irrelevant.  The  all-important  point  is  the  fact  of 
the  announcement  made.  This  states  the  dominating  issues 
of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany.  They  will  be  these  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  against  the  kingdom  set  up  by  Satan  in 
this  world.  What  is  here  proclaimed  is  nothing  less  than  the 
universal  triumph  of  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his 
Christ.  If  our  great  expositors  had  but  grasped  the  exponen- 
tial meaning  of  this  ''great  voice"  they  could  hardly  have 
floundered  as  they  have  done  with  respect  to  the  meaning  of 
the  resplendent  figure  that  stands  at  the  head  of  this  per- 
spective grouping  of  sevens.  First,  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
is  presented  in  dual  phase,  and  then  that  of  the  world. 

The  Exponential  Dominant  Figure — The  Elders 
"And  the  four  and  twenty  elders  which  sit  before  God  on 
their  thrones  fell  upon  their  faces,  and  worshiped  God,  saying. 
We  give  thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God,  the  Almighty,  which  art, 
and  wast,  and  art  to  come ;  because  thou  hast  taken  to  thee 
thy  great  power,  and  hast  reigned,  (i)  And  the  nations  were 
angry  (2)  and  thy  wrath  is  come,  (3)  and  the  time  of  the 
dead,  that  they  should  be  judged,  (4)  and  the  time  to  give 
their  reward  to  thy  servants  the  prophets,    (5)    and  to  the 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  217 

saints,  (6)  and  to  them  that  fear  thy  name,  the  small  and  the 
great;  (7)  and  to  destroy  them  that  destroy  the  earth"  (11. 
16-18,  Revised  Version). 

This  factor — the  elders — which  takes  the  initiative  here, 
does  so  in  accordance  with  a  fixed  plan,  which  in  succession 
deploys  the  figures  associate  with  the  Theophany  in  com- 
manding position,  at  the  head  of  these  sequent  series.  Thus 
the  dominant  figure  in  the  book  of  the  Theophany  is  that  of 
the  associate  Lamb  and  seven  Spirits.  In  this  of  the  Pneuma- 
tophany it  is  that  of  the  elders ;  while  in  the  retributive  series 
it  is  the  zoa  that  perform  the  initiative  action.  These  elders 
consistently  take  the  initiative  here  in  the  presence  of  this 
heavenly  voicing  with  respect  to  the  coming  triumph  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  This  was  the  burden  of  their  new  song 
in  the  tumultuous  redemptorial  scene.  They  were  within  the 
divine  secret  then,  and  could  dry  the  weeping  apostle's  tears. 
They  understand  it  now.  The  time  of  triumph  has  come. 
As  indicated  above,  their  voicing  presents  a  complete  expo- 
nential septad,  which  begins  with  the  wrath  of  the  nations 
and  ends  with  the  destruction  of  the  wicked.  The  scope  of 
this  exponential  grouping  is  thus  shown  to  reach  up  to  the 
vintage  scene,  and  incidentally  to  determine  the  fact  that  the 
harvest  scene  includes  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 

The  reader  will  note  that  this  exponential  seven  that  antici- 
pates the  great  governmental  phase  of  the  drama  does  not 
exhaust  this  voicing  of  the  elders.  It  is  prefaced  by  a  most 
important  single  utterance  which  gives  the  reason  for  this 
fresh  breaking  forth  of  the  creational  chant.  Thoroughness 
with  respect  to  this  exponential  voicing  calls  for  the  careful 
consideration  of  this  prefatory  utterance.  It  is  the  creational 
chant  not  on  the  lips  of  the  zoa,  but  on  those  of  the  elders. 
The  zoa  have  no  part  to  perform  within  the  lines  of  this 
series  of  the  trumpets.  The  transposition  of  their  chant  in 
the  manner  indicated  is  therefore  profoundly  significant.  It 
calls   attention   to   something:   that   will   unfold   in   this   com- 


2i8  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

ing  symbolism  that  in  importance  will  rank  with  creation.  It 
is  the  great  central  characterization  of  this  prefatory  section 
(chapter  12)  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany.  The  method 
by  which  the  Eternal  God  takes  to  him  his  great  power,  and 
so  puts  all  things  under  his  feet,  is  that  of  the  triumph  of  the 
great  redemptive  scheme.  The  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus 
thus  becomes  the  central  factor  of  this  governmental  section. 

The  Temple  of  God  is  Opened 
In  the  scene  of  the  Pneumatophany  this  temple  is  measured. 
Here  it  is  opened.  The  object  of  this  opening  is  not  as  yet  to 
disclose  the  worshipers  within  its  courts,  but  to  lift  the  veil 
before  "the  ark  of  his  testament."  From  this  opened  temple 
will  issue  the  forces  that  will  engage  those  that  came  forth 
from  the  mouth  of  the  opened  pit.  The  Two  Witnesses  here 
metamorphosed  and  centrally  shrined  in  this  commanding 
position  give  sufficient  intimation  of  the  fact  that  the  forces 
that  have  been  previously  arrayed  in  antagonism  to  them  will 
again  confront  them  in  this  symbolism  now  to  open. 

The  opening  of  this  sacred  inclosure,  into  which  the  high 
priest  could  enter  only  once  a  year,  on  the  great  day  of  atone- 
ment, is  profoundly  pregnant  w^ith  meaning.  The  mystic  veil 
before  this  ark  is  rent  by  the  vicarious  death  of  Christ,  and 
the  great  word  that  is  thus  mystically  uttered  by  this  expo- 
nent is  the  atonement.  As  thus  associate  with  the  Word  of 
God  it  epitomizes  the  great  forces  already  characteristically 
introduced  in  the  field  and  places  them  into  exponential  posi- 
tion.    This  exponent  is  followed  by  that  of  the 

Concerted  Throne  Voicings 
The  importance  of  this  exponential  utterance  has  been  so 
frequently  referred  to,  and  its  office  so  explained,  that  its  con- 
sideration need  not  detain  us  at  this  point.  It  first  takes  posi- 
tion in  the  Theophany  as  the  trinitarian  voicing  of  the 
Throne.     At  the  inception  of  the  trumpet  series  it  takes  on 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  219 

the  additional  factor  of  the  great  earthquake,  the  generic 
marking  of  the  great  world,  and  also  underworld  convulsion. 
Here  there  is  again  added  another  factor — the  great  hail. 
This  factor  is  the  judgment  symbol  and  the  finality  of  this 
exponential  voicing.  The  fact  that  it  takes  position  here  in 
the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  as  reenforcing  the  two  previ- 
ous utterances  of  this  generic  divisional  exponent  tells  us 
that  its  lines  will  include  the  terminal  judgment  scene.  In 
its  first  expansion  this  exponent  courses  through  the  great 
world  convulsion.  In  its  second  it  reaches  the  finality  of  the 
judgment,  or  great  day  of  the  wrath  of  God  and  the  Lamb; 
and  yet  in  its  fivefold  voicing  it  tells  us  in  most  positive 
apocalyptic  language  that  though  finalities  are  indeed  reached, 
the  details  with  respect  to  them  are  not  complete. 

There  w^ill  be  one  more  utterance  of  these  concerted  voic- 
ings  in  which  they  wall  expand  to  a  great  generic  seven,  thus 
asserting  the  fact  that  the  fullness  of  their  exponential  ex- 
pression has  now  been  reached.  They  will  follow  the  pouring 
out  of  the  last  vial,  as  they  here  do  the  blast  of  the  final 
trumpet,  and  set  in  motion  the  panorama  of  the  Retributive 
Trilogy.  Here  we  shall  find  that,  while  the  great  hail  still 
retains  its  position  as  the  final  factor,  yet  in  the  expansion 
and  accentuation -of  its  associate  factors  to  the  fullness  of  a 
septad  (chapter  16.  18-21)  w^e  have  the  exponential  emphasis 
of  the  content  of  this  great  triune  retributive  section.  The 
reader  will  note  that  the  ''thunders"  and  "lightnings"  which 
in  the  trumpet  utterance  exchange  places  here  resume  their 
original  position,  as  in  their  first  utterance  from  the  throne 
of  the  Theophany. 

"And  there  follow^ed  lightnings,  and  voices,  and  thunders, 
and  an  earthquake,  and  great  hail." 

Basilophany  verstis  Satanophany 

The  coining  here  of  a  new  word  seems  unavoidable  if  we 
adhere  to  the  method  adopted  with  respect  to  the  three  sub- 


220  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

lime  epiphanies  that  have  been  passed  in  review.  Of  course, 
the  word  is  only  susceptible  of  this  mystic  apocalyptic  use.  It 
is  compounded  of  the  Greek  words  hasileia,  kingdom,  and 
phanein,  to  appear.  The  meaning  thus  to  be  expressed  is  that 
of  the  figurative  or  mystically  emblematic  display  of  the  king- 
dom of  God.  In  the  same  sense  the  great  antagonist  that 
confronts  this  figure,  whose  personality  is  too  clearly  identi- 
fied to  admit  of  mistake,  becomes  a  Satanophany. 

The  Groupings  of  the  Basilophany 
(i)  The  Sun-robed  Woman  Parturient :  "And  there  appeared 
a  great  wonder  in  heaven:  (i)  a  woman  (2)  clothed  with  the 
sun,  and  (3)  the  moon  under  her  feet,  and  (4)  upon  her  head  a 
crown  of  twelve  stars:  and  she  (5)  being  with  child  (6)  cried, 
travailing  in  birth,  and  (7)  pained  to  be  delivered." 

(2)  The  Satanophany,  and  Divine  Restraint  of  the  Dragon: 
"And  there  appeared  another  wonder  in  heaven ;  and,  behold, 
(i)  a  great  red  dragon,  (2)  having  seven  heads  and  (3)  ten 
horns,  and  (4)  seven  crowns  [diadems]  upon  his  heads. 
(5)  And  his  tail  drew  the  third  part  of  the  stars  of  heaven, 
and  (6)  did  cast  them  to  the  earth:  (7)  and  the  dragon  stood 
before  the  woman  which  was  ready  to  be  delivered,  for  to 
devour  her  child  as  soon  as  it  was  born.  ( i )  And  she  brought 
forth  a  man  child,  (2)  who  was  to  rule  all  nations  with  a  rod 
of  iron:  (3)  and  her  child  was  caught  up  unto  God,  (4)  and 
unto  his  throne." 

(3)  Flight  of  the  Woman  to  the  Wilderness:  "And  the 
woman  fled  into  the  wilderness,  where  she  hath  a  place  pre- 
pared of  God,  that  they  should  feed  her  there  a  thousand 
two  hundred  and  threescore  days." 

(4)  The  Great  Celestial  War :  "And  there  was  war  in  heaven : 
Michael  and  his  angels  fought  against  the  dragon:  and  the 
dragon  fought  and  his  angels,  and  prevailed  not;  neither  was 
their  place  found  any  more  in  heaven.  And  the  great  dragon 
was  cast  out,  that  old   Serpent,  called  the  devil,  and  Satan, 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  221 

which  deceiveth  the  whole  world:  he  was  cast  out  into  the 
earth,  and  his  angels  were  cast  out  with  him." 

The  importance  of  this  victory  is  celebrated  by  a  celestial 
voicing  presenting  a  dual  sub-seven. 

The  Celestial  Paean  of  Triumph :  ''And  I  heard  a  great  voice 
in  heaven,  saying,  (i)  Now  is  come  salvation,  (2)  and 
strength,  and  (3)  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  (4)  and  the  power 
of  his  Christ:  for  the  Accuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast  down, 
which  accused  them  before  our  God  day  and  night.  (5)  And 
they  overcame  him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  (6)  and  by  the 
word  of  their  testimony;  (7)  and  they  loved  not  their  lives 
unto  the  death. 

'Therefore  (i)  rejoice,  ye  heavens,  (2)  and  ye  that  dwell  in 
them.  (3)  Woe  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  (4)  and  of 
the  sea.  (5)  For  the  devil  is  come  down  unto  you,  (6)  having 
great  wrath,  (7)  because  he  knoweth  that  he  hath  but  a  short 
time." 

(5)  Dragonic  Persecution  of  the  Woman — Her  Second 
Flight:  "(i)  And  when  the  dragon  saw  that  he  was  cast  unto 
the  earth,  he  persecuted  the  woman  which  brought  forth  the 
man  child.  (2)  And  to  the  woman  were  given  two  wings  of 
a  great  eagle,  that  she  might  fly  into  the  wilderness,  into  her 
place,  (3)  where  she  is  nourished  for  a  time,  and  times,  and 
half  a  time,  from  the  face  of  the  serpent." 

(6)  The  Dragonic  Flood  of  Waters:  "(4)  And  the  serpent 
cast  out  of  his  mouth  water  as  a  flood  after  the  woman,  that 
he  might  cause  her  to  be  carried  away  of  the  flood.  And  the 
earth  helped  the  woman,  and  the  earth  opened  her  mouth,  and 
swallowed  up  the  flood  which  the  dragon  cast  out  of  his 
mouth." 

(7)  Dragonic  War  with  the  Remnant :  "And  the  dragon  was 
wroth  with  the  woman,  and  went  to  make  war  with  the  rem- 
nant of  her  seed,  which  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
have  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ." 


222  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Basilophany 

Various  have  been  the  conjectures  of  the  scholars  with  re- 
spect to  the  mystic  significance  of  this  ranking  symbol  of  this 
central  section  of  the  Apocalypse.  They  are  very  generally 
agreed  that  it  is  in  some  sort  a  characterization  of  the  church, 
but  whether  of  the  Jewish  or  of  the  Christian  they  are  not 
able  to  decide,  some  contending  for  the  one  and  others  equally 
as  positive  for  the  other.  Had  they  but  grasped  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  office  of  the  exponents  that  are  thrown  into  the 
foreground  the  irrelevancy  of  both  views  must  have  appeared. 
The  great  dominating  thought  which  they  accentuate,  which 
looks  out  upon  us  from  every  exponential  angle,  is  that  of 
the  "kingdom  of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ." 

It  was  over  this  kingdom  that  these  elders  rejoiced  in  the 
rhapsody  of  their  ''new  song,"  in  the  tumult  of  the  redemp- 
torial  scene  (chapter  5),  and  it  is  its  mystic  development  that 
engages  their  attention  here.  Hence  it  is  with  perfect  apoc- 
alyptic consistency  that  its  epiphanic  symbol  should  stand  forth 
as  the  ranking  figure  of  this  section. 

From  this  point  onward  through  the  correlate  sections  of 
the  book  this  figure  with  its  metamorphoses  will  form  one  of 
the  most  impressive  features  of  our  study.  We  behold  her 
here  dignified  by  exaltation  to  the  celestial  spaces.  The  trine 
luminaries  of  the  heavens  clothe,  crown,  and  support  her,  as 
she  stands  in  the  pangs  of  parturience.  Her  child  is  caught 
up  to  the  throne.  She  descends  to  cower  in  the  shadows  of 
the  wilderness,  where  she  is  fed  for  a  mystic  apocalyptic  half- 
seven.  We  see  her  child,  in  the  person  of  Michael,  taking  up 
for  her  the  gage  of  battle  and  administering  a  crushing  defeat 
to  her  inveterate  foe.    The  sequence  of  this  is  her  final  woe. 

Again,  face  to  face  with  the  dragon,  now  full  of  great  rage 
and  dominant  in  the  earth  for  a  short  time — but,  as  clearly 
appears,  for  the  entire  period  of  the  third  woe — she  now  once 
more  gives  way  before  his  terrific  presence  and  flies  upon  the 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  223 

wings  of  a  great  eagle  from  before  his  face  to  the  wilderness, 
to  the  place  prepared  for  her  of  God.  She  flew  away  from 
the  fiery  storm  of  dragonic  persecution  followed  by  a  whelm- 
ing flood  of  waters,  emitted  from  the  dragonic  mouth,  from 
which  she  is  saved  by  the  kindly  interposition  of  the  yawning 
earth.  Here  she  remains  for  another  period,  again  measured 
by  the  half-seven,  with  only  the  remnant  of  her  seed  exposed 
to  the  dragonic  rage.  This  completes  the  perspective  for  the 
introduction  of  the  symbolism  of  the  woe,  which  follows  in 
the  remaining  section  of  the  adverse  side  of  this  series. 

We  now  pass  forward  to  the  lines  of  the  Trilogy,  where,  at 
the  head  of  the  correlate  section,  the  veiling  shadows  of  the 
wilderness  lift  and  we  behold  her  again,  to  be  amazed  by  the 
startling  metamorphosis  that  has  changed  her  robes  of  light 
to  the  loud  paraphernalia  of  the  harlot,  and  wearing  upon  her 
brow,  in  place  of  her  starry  crown,  the  mystic  brand  of  her 
infamy.  She  is  seated  in  state  upon  the  ranking  figure  of  the 
third  Woe,  ''drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints  and  with  the 
blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus,"  and  riding  forward  into  the 
thunder  roads  of  divine  retribution.  Finally,  as  the  veil  lifts 
upon  the  scene  of  the  fourth  Counterpart,  we  behold  the  figure 
again  metamorphosed.  Clad  in  nuptial  robings,  illumined  by 
the  jasper  glory  of  the  throne,  it  awaits  its  culmination  as  the 
Bride  of  the  Lamb.  Metamorphosed  again,  it  is  disclosed  as 
a  jeweled  city  where  they  die  no  more ;  where  all  tears  are 
wiped  away ;  where  ''they  need  no  candle,  neither  light  of  the 
sun ;  for  the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light,  and  they  shall  reign 
forever  and  ever." 

This  sublime  epiphany,  aside  from  its  mystic  significance, 
pays  a  beautiful  tribute  to  maternity.  It  exalts  it  to  the 
heavens  and  clothes  it  with  a  dignity  and  glory  that  is  most 
impressive.  An  unparalleled  honor  has  been  conferred  upon 
woman  in  the  parthenogenetic  mystery  of  her  motherhood  of 
the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  Sad  as  is  the  Romanistic  error  of 
her  idolatrous  worship,  no  reaction  of  thought  should  prevent 


224  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

our  recognizing  the  high  respect  which  the  Scriptures  pay  to 
her  as  the  mother  of  the  humanity  of  our  Lord.  She  is  so 
pronounced,  and  ever  will  be,  ''blessed  among  women."  But 
that  it  is  the  Virgin  Mary  that  is  presented  in  this  striking 
epiphany,  save  in  a  remotely  associate  or  mystic  sense,  is  not 
conceivable.  Any  such  conception  must  break  and  give  way 
as  soon  as  we  attempt  to  adjust  it  with  the  demands  of  the 
associate  symbolism.  The  most  devoted  Mariolatrist  could 
but  recoil  from  this  view  as,  in  the  expansion  of  the  figure,  he 
saw  the  brand  upon  the  brow  of  the  harlot.  It  may  be  con- 
ceded that  the  literal  birth  of  Christ  and  the  murderous  Herod 
waiting  to  destroy  him  may  fi.nd  mystic  reflection  in  the  case; 
but  this  is  not  the  point  in  question.  It  is  that  of  the  divine 
kingdom,  or  Zion,  pregnant  with  the  Messianic  hope  which 
ramifies  the  whole  body  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.  We 
may  indeed  conceive  of  the  Child  of  Mary  caught  up  to  the 
throne,  but  not  as  soon  as  it  was  born.  Again,  the  exposition 
breaks  as  soon  as  we  try  to  find  some  scriptural  authority  for 
conceiving  of  her  as  fleeing  from  the  face  of  the  persecuting 
dragon  and  cowering  in  the  wilderness.  Again,  in  view  of  his 
doctrine  of  the  perpetual  virginity  of  Mary,  the  Romanist  can 
but  be  confounded  with  this  factor  of  ''the  remnant  of  her 
seed."  The  popular  understanding  is  that  Mary  died  and 
went  to  heaven.  It  is  clearly  not  of  her  that  this  symbolism 
speaks. 

The  fact  that  subsequent  to  this  war  in  heaven,  which  under 
the  hand  of  the  expositor  is  made  to  characterize  the  downfall 
of  Roman  paganism,  she  again  flies  to  the  wilderness  should 
be  deemed  sufficient  to  demonstrate  that  the  apocalyptic  signifi- 
cance of  this  figure  is  too  large  to  be  cramped  within  the 
narrow  lines  of  literalism.  Let  it  be  granted  that  behind  the 
mystic  significance  of  the  symbol  the  literal  birth  of  Christ 
must  necessarily  rise  to  view,  yet  neither  in  the  larger  sense 
of  personification  nor,  more  remotely,  as  suggesting  the 
blessed  Virgin  is  there  the  least  semblance  of  worship  paid 


Tpie  Book  of  the  Pneumatopiiany  225 

to  this  most  gorgeous  mother.  As  she  stands  thus  arrayed  in 
her  solar  robings,  crowned  with  her  gems  plucked  from  the 
midnight,  there  is  no  characteristic  prostration  of  the  elders 
before  her ;  no  chant  of  the  zoa  or  tumult  among  the  angels ; 
no  echo  of  Sistine  choirs  leading  in  a  universal  chorus  of 
woman  worship.  That  will  pass  upon  the  screen  when  her 
stars  have  been  hurled  to  the  earth  and  the  glory  of  her 
solar  robings  fades  away  in  the  crimson  blush  of  her  harlotry. 

That  this  symbol  is  broader  than  the  Christian  church  is 
proved  not  only  by  its  double  phase,  bisected  by  the  war  in 
heaven,  but  also  by  the  fact  of  this  bisecting  being  especially 
marked  by  the  introduction  of  a  full  exponential  sub-seven. 
Those  expositors  who  contend  that  this  symbol  characterizes 
the  Christian  church  are  compelled  by  their  theory  not  only 
to  violate  all  sense  of  physical  harmony,  but  also  to  run  wild 
with  respect  to  the  structural  symmetry  of  the  series.  It  is 
a  most  glaring  anachronism  to  conceive  of  Christianity  as 
already  crowned  with  her  twelve  apostolic  stars  while  she 
waits  for  the  advent  of  Christ  himself.  Such  a  characteriza- 
tion might  be  conceived  as  admissible  within  the  lines  of  a 
governing  exponent,  but  not  within  the  characteristic  develop- 
ment of  the  sequences  of  the  panorama. 

Having  already  identified  this  figure  as  a  mystic  personifi- 
cation of  the  divine  kingdom  in  its  broadest  generic  sense, 
and  as  consistently  reflecting  the  dual  phase  of  its  develop- 
ment, the  reader  need  not  be  wearied  with  further  discussion 
of  the  negative  side  of  the  subject;  but  the  importance  of  the 
position  here  taken  is  such  that  it  should  be  doubly  buttressed 
before  we  pass  to  the  symbolism  of  the  Woe  of  which  it  is  the 
Introduction.  It  may  be  a  thought  too  occult  for  the  average 
reader  to  grasp  that  as  we  pass  from  the  sphere  of  these  divine 
epiphanies  we  must  of  necessity  enter  that  of  the  great  quad- 
rate of  the  Theophany;  but  the  essential  features  so  stand  out 
in  the  clear  that  they  may  without  difficulty  be  apprehended. 
The  figure  that  assumes  the  governing  position  at  the  head 


226  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

of  the  exponential  grouping  is  that  of  the  elders,  who,  as  we 
have  seen,  both  visually  and  audibly  claim  the  regal  headship 
of  the  divine  kingdom  in  the  earth. 

As  the  dragon  confronts  the  woman  upon  the  celestial  plane 
his  identity  is  a  mystery ;  but  as  he  is  cast  down  to  the  earth 
under  the  sword-thrust  of  Michael  it  is  disclosed  as  "that  old 
serpent,  called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,"  the  Four  Winds,  and  the 
four  Euphrates  Angels  as  brought  within  the  lines  of  the 
series  now  passing  upon  the  screen.  It  will  be  noted  that  the 
quadrate  expansion  of  the  name  carries  its  reference  back  to 
the  gates  of  Eden.  The  phrase  *'man  child"  does  the  same. 
As  Eve  looked  down  into  the  face  of  her  firstborn  she  said, 
"I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord."  The  use  of  this  phrase 
by  the  prophets,  as  associate  with  the  conception  of  Zion 
maternal,  gives  solid  background  for  the  apocalyptic  employ- 
ment of  the  figure.  The  birth  of  the  Messianic  hope  transpires 
in  the  Edenic  promise.  The  world's  Redeemer  is  thus  born 
proleptically,  as  he  is  slain  proleptically,  "from  the  foundation 
of  the  world." 

Two  quotations,  selected  from  a  great  mass  not  necessary 
to  be  introduced  here,  will  fairly  exhibit  the  prophetic  con- 
ception of  this  figure  of  Zion  maternal.    Isaiah  says  (66.  6-8)  : 

"A  voice  of  noise  from  the  city,  a  voice  from  the  temple,  a 
voice  of  the  Lord  that  rendereth  recompense  to  his  enemies. 
Before  she  travailed,  she  brought  forth ;  before  her  pain  eame, 
she  was  delivered  of  a  man  child.  Who  hath  heard  such  a 
thing?  who  hath  seen  such  things?  Shall  the  earth  be  made 
to  bring  forth  in  one  day?  or  shall  a  nation  be  born  at  once? 
for  as  soon  as  Zion  travailed,  she  brought  forth  her  children." 

While  this  characterization  is  thus  shown  to  coincide  so 
clearly  with  that  of  the  figure  before  us,  the  following  verses 
will,  in  the  same  sense,  be  seen  to  correlate  with  its  final  apoc- 
alyptic metamorphosis  in  the  figure  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 
The  prophet  Micah  gives  us  a  series  of  prophecies  relating 
to  the  distant  future  of  the  "house  of  Israel"  as  under  the 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  227 

Messianic  regime.  His  employment  of  this  maternal  figure 
will  repay  careful  study.  The  famous  prophecy  that  was  read 
to  Herod,  relative  to  the  birth  of  Christ,  presents  a  scope  that 
clearly  squares  with  this  of  the  Basilophany.    He  says  (5.  1-3)  : 

"Now  gather  thyself  in  troops,  O  daughter  of  troops:  he 
hath  laid  siege  against  us;  they  shall  smite  the  judge  of  Israel 
with  a  rod  upon  the  cheek.  But  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephratah, 
though  thou  be  little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out 
of  thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be  ruler  in 
Israel ;  whose  goings  forth  have  been  from  of  old,  from  ever- 
lasting. Therefore  will  he  give  them  up,  until  the  time  that 
she  which  travaileth  hath  brought  forth;  then  the  remnant  of 
his  brethren  shall  return  unto  the  children  of  Israel." 

With  respect  to  the  twelve  stars  which  compose  the  crown 
of  this  figure,  and  which  are  popularly  understood  to  stand 
for  the  twelve  apostles,  it  must  be  conceded  that  the  law  of 
solidarity  here  interposes  a  weighty  objection.  The  starry 
diadem  of  the  Christian  church  has  already  been  held  before 
us  in  the  Christophany,  and  not  as  twelve  stars,  but  seven. 
Twelve  is  the  royalistic  number,  and  relates  primarily  to  the 
patriarchs,  who  appear  mystically  in  drapery  that  suggests 
correlation  with  this  symbolism,  while  the  apostles  do  not. 
The  incident  is  that  of  Joseph's  dream  (Gen.  37.  9-1 1)  : 

"And  he  dreamed  yet  another  dream,  and  told  it  to  his 
brethren,  and  said.  Behold,  I  have  dreamed  a  dream  more ; 
and,  behold,  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  eleven  stars,  made 
obeisance  to  me.  And  he  told  it  to  his  father,  and  to  his 
brethren:  and  his  father  rebuked  him,  and  said  unto  him, 
What  is  this  dream  that  thou  hast  dreamed?  Shall  I  and  thy 
mother  and  thy  brethren  indeed  come  to  bow  down  ourselves 
unto  thee  to  the  earth?  And  his  brethren  envied  him  ;  but  his 
father  observed  the  saying."  The  suggestion  here  plainly  is 
that  these  twelve  stars — for  by  implication  Joseph  himself  is 
the  twelfth  star — are  mystically  characteristic  of  the  tribal 
headship  of  Israel. 


228  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Satanophany 

By  the  same  method  of  exalted  characterization  that  has 
presented  the  figures,  in  succession,  of  the  Holy  Trinity  and 
the  divine  kingdom,  the  figures  of  the  infernal  antitrinity  will 
be  specialized  upon  the  panoramic  scroll.  These  are  the 
dragon  and  the  figures  of  the  third  Woe,  the  beast,  and  the 
false  prophet,  which,  as  has  been  observed,  complete  the  great 
seven  of  the  book.  The  dragonic  figure  consistently  leads, 
and  both  as  four  winds  and  four  angels  finds  characterization 
in  the  section  before  us,  thus  completely  traversing  the 
dragonic  theme  save  as,  in  common  with  its  correlate  phases, 
it  finds  its  final  expansion  in  the  details  of  the  Trilogy.  The 
portrait  of  the  devil,  as  presented  in  popular  art,  is  that  of 
a  man  with  horns,  hoofs,  and  spear-pointed  tail ;  a  figure  that 
may  answer  well  for  cartoons  and  theatricals,  but  which  is 
utterly  lacking  in  that  impressiveness  presented  by  this  fearful 
figure  of  the  Apocalypse.  It  certainly  is  the  most  terrifying 
of  all  the  malign  conceptions  of  the  book,  and  is  in  every  way 
worthy  of  its  infernal  subject.  It  is  that  of  a  great  fire- 
colored  dragon,  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns,  and  upon 
his  heads  seven  diadems.  His  terrific  power  is  demonstrated 
before  the  eyes  of  John  in  the  visual  fact  that  by  the  swish 
of  his  dragonic  tail  he  "drew  the  third  part  of  the  stars  of 
heaven,  and  did  cast  them  to  the  earth."  This  statement  is 
popularly  conceived  to  relate  to  the  fall  of  the  qngels,  one 
third  of  whom  are  thus  conceived  as  having  followed  him 
in  the  great  celestial  defection ;  but,  standing  without  a  corre- 
late anywhere  within  the  book,  it  may  be  seriously  questioned 
whether  this  is  its  intended  significance. 

In  the  presence  of  the  fact  that  the  fall  of  man  has  already 
found  fitting  characterization,  and  that  the  Apocalypse  appar- 
ently does  not  introduce  the  subject  of  the  fall  of  the  angels 
who  kept  not  their  first  estate,  it  might  be  legitimate  to  con- 
ceive that  the  figure  may  be  strictly  held  as  within  the  lines 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  229 

of  the  dominant  characteristic  thought  of  its  section.  These  stars 
of  heaven  may  be  those  of  the  bright  constellation  that  crowns 
the  head  of  this  royalistic  woman;  and  that  the  depression  of 
the  divine  kingdom  in  the  earth  is  thus  mystically  expressed. 

This  thought  is  further  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  to 
give  this  figure  the  popular  interpretation  introduces  a  struc- 
tural anachronism  not  admissible  within  the  different  group- 
ings of  a  connected  series.  The  great  central  paragraph  does 
recognize  the  presence  of  the  fallen  angels,  and  as  not  yet 
cast  down  to  the  earth  but  as  ranged  under  their  great  Leader, 
against  Michael  and  his  angels,  to  fight  to  a  finish  the  great 
war  in  heaven.  It  is  not  the  sweep  of  the  dragon's  tail  which 
casts  them  down  to  the  earth,  but  the  forked  lightnings  in  the 
hand  of  Michael.  The  number  one  third  here  employed  in 
connection  with  these  stars  is  the  mystic  third  of  the  trumpets. 
The  spiritual  and  crowning  glory  of  the  divine  kingdom  has 
been  hurled  in  the  dust.  It  is  Calvary's  great  battle  under  the 
lead  of  the  mighty  Protagonist  that  will  again  uplift  these 
fallen  stars  back  to  their  place  in  the  heavens. 

At  this  point  the  writer  would  enter  his  most  emphatic  pro- 
test against  the  unscholarly  juggling  with  the  meaning  of  this 
dragonic  symbol  that  characterizes  the  writings  even  of  our 
ablest  expositors.  The  law  of  solidarity  forbids  that  it  be 
employed  in  a  double  or  elastic  sense.  And  yet,  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  it  is  hardly  possible  that  a  more  positive 
identification  of  the  figure  could  be  given,  they  seem  incapable 
of  receiving  it.  With  them  it  means  either  devil  or  Roman 
empire  as  the  necessities  of  their  theory  of  exposition  may  be. 
To  admit  of  such  ambiguity  with  respect  to  any  of  these 
apocalyptic  symbols  would  render  intelligible  exposition  im- 
possible. The  absurdity  of  this  conception  of  the  dragon — 
as  symbolizing  the  old  pagan  Roman  empire — immediately 
appears  the  moment  we  attempt  to  adjust  it  with  the  details 
of  the  Retributive  Trilogy,  as  with  this  of  the  section  before  us. 

What  can  the  Roman  empire  possibly  have  to  do  with  this 


230  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

conceived  fall  of  the  angels?  That  it  should  be  held  to  be 
capable  of  marshaling  them  upon  this  great  celestial  battlefield ; 
that  it  should  be  defeated,  and  cast  down  to  the  earth,  to 
become  the  precursor  of  the  third  Woe ;  that  it  should  be 
bound  with  a  great  chain  for  the  rounded  period  of  a  thousand 
years  in  the  bottomless  pit  while  the  millennial  kingdom  of 
Christ  held  sway  in  the  earth;  that  it  should  then  be  loosed 
for  a  short  season  to  make  havoc  with  it;  and  that  it  should 
finally  be  cast  into  the  brimstone  lake,  must  all  be  classed  with 
a  vast  multitude  of  conceptions  of  the  content  of  this  book 
that  take  leave  of  sane  exposition  and  let  fancy  run  wild.  The 
symbol  cannot  mean  both  devil  and  Roman  empire.  Such 
looseness  of  interpretation  cannot  be  allowed.  Not  even  may 
the  dragon's  skin  be  granted  them  with  which  to  clothe  pagan 
Rome  and  so  help  out  their  perplexity.  As  "that  old  serpent" 
this  figure  is  considerably  older  than  the  Roman  empire,  and 
is  clearly  shown  to  exist  ages  after  Rome  has  gone  the  way 
of  all  the  earth.  It  is  the  greatest  antagonist  of  the  divine 
kingdom  through  all  of  the  phases  of  its  development  in  the 
earth,  until  its  final  victory  ends  the  long-drawn-out  struggle. 
With  respect  to  the  seven  heads  each  wearing  a  diadem  it  may 
not  be  possible  to  dogmatize,  save  that  the  use  of  this  number 
carries  with  it  the  implication  that  there  is  nothing  lacking  in 
his  character.  He  is  a  perfect  devil.  The  diadems  which  he 
wears  are  not  his  by  right.  They  are  the  symbol  of  his  usurped 
power,  and  pass  by  direct  gift  from  him  to  the  horns  of  the 
great  therion,  which  in  his  likeness  will  next  appear  upon  the 
scene  as  rising  from  the  depths  of  the  sea,  the  great  culminat- 
ing masterpiece  of  hell  to  be  opposed  to  the  kingdom  of  God 
in  the  earth. 

The   Binding  and   Loosing   of   Satan   Relative   to   the 
Divine  Kingdom 
That  these   factors  of  the  binding  and  loosing  of   Satan, 
which  play  so  tragic  a  part  in  the  dragonic  section  of  the 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  231 

Retributive  Trilogy,  are  reflected  here,  as  they  have  also 
been  found  to  be  under  the  seals  and  trumpets,  is  a  fact 
which  sends  great  shafts  of  light  through  one  of  the  most 
perplexing  problems  of  apocalyptic  exegesis.  In  the  book  of 
the  Christophany  there  are  no  suggestions  of  this  principle 
of  Satanic  restraint,  but  rather  those  which  are  significant  of 
the  loosing.  To  recapitulate:  Under  the  seals  we  have,  first, 
the  divine  restraint  that  is  put  upon  the  four  winds  until 
the  sealing  of  Israel  shall  have  been  accomplished,  and  then, 
conversely,  the  great  tribulation,  the  reflex  of  the  loosing. 
Under  the  first  woe  restraint  is  again  put  on  this  malign  power 
from  the  pit,  with  respect  to  Israel,  while  under  the  second 
woe  the  bonds  are  cleft  from  the  four  angels  bound  in  the 
great  Euphrates.  The  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  simply 
adds  another  phase  to  the  expanding  symbolism  which  will 
reach  its  quadrate  expression  in  the  details  of  the  Trilogy. 
As  this  sun-robed,  star-crowned  woman  faces  the  dragon, 
eager  to  devour  her  royal  child,  this  divine  restraint  inter- 
poses to  balk  his  purpose.  The  Satanic  aim  is  deeper  here 
than  that  of  merely  harming  the  woman.  The  throne  inter- 
poses, and  her  child  is  lifted  beyond  the  power  of  the  dragon 
until  issue  is  joined  in  the  celestial  war.  The  result  of  this 
great  struggle  is  to  cast  him  down  to  the  earth  and  also  to 
loose  him  in  the  earth,  where  for  a  "short  time"  he  vents  his 
great  rage  now  against  the  woman  and  the  remnant  of  her 
seed.  The  mystic  scope  of  the  epistles,  of  the  sixth  seal,  of 
the  great  tribulation,  of  the  Euphrates  demons,  and  of  this 
short  time  of  Satan's  great  rage  in  the  earth,  as  of  his  final 
loosing  in  the  Trilogy,  is  one  and  the  same. 

The  Great  Celestial  War 

One  result  with  respect  to  this  **war  in  heaven"  is  clear. 

It  has  given  rise  to  a  large  amount  of  war  on  earth,  especially 

among  the  various  schools  of  interpretation,  without  as  yet 

achieving  the   much-to-be-desired   end   of  casting  down   the 


2:^,2  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

devil  of  discord.  The  interpretation  of  this  section  at  the 
present  time  perhaps  the  most  popular  is  that  which  regards 
this  exalted  woman  and  her  child  as  in  some  sense  a  charac- 
terization of  the  literal  facts  of  the  gospel  story.  The  dragon, 
as  the  power  which  arrays  itself  against  the  woman,  and 
against  whom  he  vents  his  great  rage,  is  conceived  to  be 
Roman  paganism.  The  significance  of  the  child  figure  is  lost 
sight  of,  as  they  have  nothing  tangible  to  ofifer  with  respect 
to  this  implied  coincidence  of  throne  shielding  with  that  of 
the  entire  period  of  the  first  wilderness  flight  of  the  mother. 
Thus  divisional  lines  are  merged,  and  diverse  conceptions  in- 
sensibly, in  the  hand  of  the  critic,  glide  together.  The  struc- 
tural law  of  the  book  is  ignored,  as  they  pass  at  once  to  the 
point  of  Messianic  maturity,  and  in  the  same  manner  havoc 
is  made  with  the  symbol  of  the  woman.  She  is  the  Virgin 
Mary  and  she  is  the  Christian  church;  and  her  double  flight, 
before  and  after  this  war  in  heaven,  is  one  and  the  same,  easily 
resolvable  into  the  same  period  of  literal  years.  And  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  this  war  is  fought  in  heaven,  far 
above  the  plane  of  the  ''inhabiters  of  the  earth,  and  of  the 
sea,"  and  that  it  is  expressly  stated  that  the  forces  on  the  one 
side  are  Michael  and  his  angels  and  on  the  other  the  dragon 
and  his  angels,  and  that  the  dragon  is  here,  as  he  falls  under 
the  sword-stroke  of  Michael,  expressly  identified  as  ''that  old 
serpent,  called  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  which  deceiveth  the  whole 
world,"  yet,  forsooth,  the  battle  is  between  pagan  Rome  and 
Christianity ! 

The  difficulties  which  confront  this  popular  Constantine 
exposition  at  every  turn  are  simply  whelming.  Attention  may 
be  profitably  directed  to  a  few  of  them,  (i)  The  first  is 
that  of  the  adjustment  of  the  time  period  of  the  woman's 
first  wilderness  flight.  It  was  not  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
literal  days  or  mystic  years  from  the  birth  of  Christ  until  this 
assumed  triumph  over  Roman  paganism,  but  about  three  hun- 
dred years.     Hence  recourse  is  had  to  a  makeshift  that  is 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  233 

destructive  of  all  coherency:  the  first  flight  is  simply  to  be 
understood  as  "anticipatory"  of  the  real  flight,  which  was 
from  the  face  of  dragonic  persecution.  Here  again  (2)  an- 
other most  important  fact  is  slurred  over.  The  "ten  perse- 
cutions" of  the  pagan  emperors  are  all  antecedent  to  the  time 
of  this  war  in  heaven  and  assumed  casting  down  of  the  power 
of  the  dragon  of  paganism  by  Christianity's  ascension  of  the 
throne  of  the  Caesars.  Again,  (3)  all  sense  of  consistency  is 
violated  when  in  the  course  of  these  closely  connected  para- 
graphs, all  of  which  relate  to  one  of  the  great  ranking  factors 
of  the  book,  such  a  juggling  metempsychosis  is  introduced  as 
is  here  conceived  by  these  expositors  with  respect  to  the  per- 
sonality of  the  dragon,  holding  him  as  transformed  from  a 
defunct  paganism  to  that  of  an  apostate  ecclesiasticism  before 
whose  persecuting  rage  the  real  flight  into  the  wilderness 
actually  takes  place.  This  theory,  having  assumed  this  load 
of  incongruities,  staggers  along  under  its  weight  till  it  is 
again  confronted  by  the  dragon  at  the  door  of  the  bottomless 
pit,  when  it  forgets  that  he  is  the  pagan  Roman  empire  or  even 
papal  Rome.  Now  he  is  clearly  the  personal  devil,  and  as  such 
is  bound  by  the  angel's  chain  and  incarcerated  for  the  space  of 
a  thousand  years  in  the  bottomless  pit.  No  scheme  of  expo- 
sition that  destroys  the  solidarity  of  such  an  apocalyptic  factor 
can  have  any  hope  of  success. 

With  respect  to  the  much-lauded  overthrow  of  Roman 
paganism  by  the  alleged  conversion  of  the  emperor  Constantine, 
it  must  be  said  that  the  candid  judgment  of  scholarly  research 
is  that,  instead  of  paganism  here  suflfering  defeat,  Christianity, 
in  fact,  met  with  the  most  disastrous  blow  that  she  ever  re- 
ceived when  she  thus  ascended  the  throne  of  the  Caesars. 
Here,  instead  of  casting  down  and  out  the  devil  of  Roman 
paganism,  Christianity  herself  was  in  reality  paganized.  It 
is  only  possible  to  elevate  this  far-famed  Constantine  episode 
into  a  triumph  of  the  principles  of  the  cross  when  we  forget 
what  Christianity  essentially  is.     The  unbiased  verdict  of  the 


234  The  Last  MesSyXGE  of  Jesus  Christ 

ages  will  be  that  at  this  point  Christianity  compromised  with 
paganism,  entering  into  that  unholy  alliance  that  laid  the  foun- 
dations of  the  great  apostasy  that  has  palled  the  heavens 
with  darkness  and  filled  earth  with  tears  and  blood.  Here 
the  true  glory  begins  to  fade  away  into  the  darkness  of  a 
transliterated  paganism  whose  thrall  holds  the  larger  part  of 
the  earth  till  the  present  hour.  At  this  point,  of  the  union  of 
the  church  of  Christ  with  a  corrupt  state,  a  marked  change 
comes  over  the  spirit  of  that  Christianity  which  for  nearly 
three  hundred  years  had  shone  resplendent  amid  the  fires  of 
martyrdom.  That  which  Roman  lions,  crosses,  and  fagots 
could  not  conquer  is  suddenly  lifted  upon  the  wave  of  popu- 
larity to  meet  with  lions  more  to  be  dreaded  than  any  it  ever 
met  in  the  arena,  and  hotter  fires  than  any  that  were  ever 
kindled  in  the  pleasure  gardens  of  the  inhuman  Nero.  In  the 
fiercer  fires  of  this  hitherto  unknown  crucible  the  pure  gold 
seems  to  turn  to  dross,  and  the  spirit  of  the  meek  and  lowly 
Nazarene  to  give  way  to  that  of  an  unholy  rivalry  among  the 
standard  bearers  of  the  cross  for  place  and  power.  The  epis- 
copacy, under  the  smile  of  the  secular  power,  rose  with 
amazing  rapidity  to  a  point  of  almost  regal  aggrandizement. 
Arrogant  ecclesiastics,  like  Paul  of  Samosata,  produced  the 
swelling  bud  which  was  later  destined  to  flower  in  the  uni- 
versal pope.  Paganism,  unchanged  in  spirit,  was  at  first  con- 
ciliated, and  then  baptized  and  transferred  bodily  into  the 
church.  All  the  old  pagan  festivals  were  rehabilitated  in 
Christianity  in  a  manner  that  hardly  permitted  the  participants 
to  be  conscious  of  the  change.  A  new  nomenclature,  of  course, 
came  in  vogue,  and  some  of  the  grosser  forms  of  heathen 
custom  were  modified,  but  outwardly  the  changed  conditions 
were  so  slight  that  paganism  must  have  been  surprised  at  the 
ease  with  which  it  had  been  converted.  The  old  gods  and  god- 
desses of  heathen  Rome  were  metamorphosed  into  the  saints 
and  apostles  of  papal  Rome.  The  classical  Jupiters  were 
easily  transformed  into  Saint  Peters,  while  the  female  divin- 


The  Book  of  the  PNEUMATorHANY  235 

ities  were  made  over  into  Virgin  Marys  and  are  adored  as 
such  at  the  present  hour.  So  notorious  are  these  facts  that 
Rome  docs  not  attempt  to  deny  them,  but  acknowledges  and 
justifies  them — as  can  be  proved  by  reference  to  the  writings 
of  her  apologists.  No  Jesuitical  juggling  with  the  historical 
record  will  ever  avail  to  change  the  verdict  with  respect  to 
this  descensus  averni  of  the  primitive  church.  The  most 
startling  thing  in  connection  with  it  is  that  it  should  have 
been  so  faithfully  mirrored  in  this  apocalyptic  vision  of  the 
fisherman  of  Galilee. 

The  popular  conception  of  this  "war  in  heaven"  is  that,  at 
some  time  and  somewhere,  the  two  chief  angels  of  the  celestial 
hierarchy  clashed  spears  for  supremacy  in  the  skies.  Lucifer 
and  his  hosts  were  defeated,  and  hurled  over  the  battlements, 
and  thus  forever  cast  out  of  heaven.  The  scholars  who  essay 
to  penetrate  within  the  veil  of  mysticism  claim  that  they  have 
discovered  that  this  great  struggle  was  in  reality  the  conflict 
waged  by  Christianity  for  the  possession  of  the  secular  power 
of  the  empire  of  Rome,  and  not — as  the  writer  firmly  holds — 
the  mighty  conflict  waged  by  the  redemptive  forces  for  the 
salvation  of  a  lost  world,  whose  one  most  glorious  victory 
lies  in  the  fact  of  the  triumph  of  the  atonement.  It  can 
hardly  be  controverted  that  the  elevated  symbolism  here 
wheeled  into  line  is  as  fittingly  characteristic  of  this  momen- 
tous event  as  its  passing  is  of  the  unfolding  of  its  progressive 
phases.  That  Satan  placed  himself  in  open  antagonism  to 
Christ,  with  the  evident  design  of  thwarting  the  consummation 
of  the  atonement,  is  clear  from  the  most  positive  statements 
made  in  the  sacred  record.  How  fierce  was  the  onslaught 
that  was  met  by  the  Son  of  God  we  may  not  know.  Sufficient 
the  fact  that,  as  the  long-drawn-out  struggle  ends,  all  heaven 
rings  with  the  one  great  word,  ''Salvation."  But  the  contest 
was  between  the  dragon  and  the  archangel  Michael.  Christ 
is  not  mentioned  at  all.  It  were  better  before  making  such 
statement  to  master  the  significance  of  the  voicing  that  as 


22i()  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

following  this  battle  is  declarative  of  its  result.  The  term 
''archangel"  does  not  occur  in  the  Apocalypse.  It  occurs  but 
twice  in  the  entire  Bible,  and  only  once  as  associate  with  a 
personal  name — this  of  Michael,  in  Jude,  where,  as  here, 
he  stands  in  antagonism  with  Satan.  The  name  means  "one 
like  God."  In  the  prophecy  of  Daniel  he  is  alluded  to  in  a 
way  that  carries  with  it  the  implication  of  Messianic  office — 
as  the  "great  prince  that  standeth  for  the  children  of  thy 
people."  Throughout  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  there  is 
the  frequent  appearance  of  two  great  angels  that  unquestion- 
ably wear  the  vesture  of  Deity.  They  appear  as  the  "Angel 
of  Jehovah"  and  the  "Angel  of  Elohim,"  Michael  (one  like 
God)  and  Gabriel  (strength  or  power  of  God)  ;  names  which 
are  significantly  used  in  the  New  Testament,  but  with  respect 
to  which,  for  fuller  discussion,  the  reader  must  be  referred 
to  the  author's  Eschatology  of  the  Prophets. 

The  Angel  of  Jehovah,  who  is  conceded  to  have  been  the 
Eternal  Son,  is  par  excellence  the  archangel,  and  so,  fittingly, 
in  a  mystic  sense,  takes  the  name  of  Michael  in  the  field  of 
this  celestial  war.  The  result  of  the  mighty  conflict  is  voiced 
in  the  glorious  announcement  of  the  sequent  intercalary  expo- 
nential utterance.  Heaven's  great  paean  of  joy  is  not  over  the 
fact  that  it  is  finally  and  forever  rid  of  the  archfiend,  but  that 
salvation  has  now  become  a  finished  reality.  It  looks  upon  the 
blood  of  the  atonement  and  shouts,  "Now  is  come  salvation, 
and  strength,  and  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the  power  of 
his  Christ" — a  mighty  quadrate  relative  to  assured  fact,  which 
will  be  followed  by  a  triad  that  is  ominous  of  the  coming  woe. 
There  is  rejoicing  over  the  fact  that  "the  accuser  of  our 
brethren  is  cast  down,  which  accused  them  before  our  God 
day  and  night." 

From  the  hour  when  the  first  saved  sinner  took  his  place 
in  heaven,  by  virtue  of  a  system  of  credit  piling  up  its  obliga- 
tions in  the  great  clearing  house  of  eternity,  Satan's  accusing 
voice  has  up  to  this  hour  broken  discordant  upon  the  chant 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  237 

of  the  zoa.  The  holy  character  of  God  is  thus  impugned,  and 
his  impartial  justice,  in  the  presence  of  the  rattling  chains  of 
Tartarus,  made  the  occasion  of  the  Satanic  sneer.  But  now, 
in  the  presence  of  this  whelming  fact  of  the  blood-stained 
cross,  the  ground  of  this  impeachment  of  the  divine  character 
is  swept  from  beneath  his  dragonic  feet,  while  his  voice  of 
accusation  is  hushed  forever. 

As  the  quadrate  declares  the  glorious  fact  of  salvation,  so 
the  triad  which  now  follows  lifts  to  view  the  means  by  which 
it  was  accomplished,  the  triad,  by  the  law  of  the  seven,  relat- 
ing here  to  the  method  of  victory:  "(i)  And  they  overcame 
him  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  (2)  and  by  the  word  of  their 
testimony,  (3)  and  they  loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death" 
(12.  10,  11). 

The  cross  thus  looms  before  us  on  the  crimson  field  of  this 
great  battle.  It  is  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  that  secures  the 
victory,  though  conceptually  with  him  is  the  vast  army  of  the 
martyrs;  for  these  angels  that  follow  him  upon  this  fiercely 
contested  field  could  die,  for  ''they  loved  not  their  lives  unto 
the  death."  We  understand  now  why  the  giving  of  the  white 
robes  in  the  altar  scene  had  been  deferred.  They  could  not 
be  thus  distributively  given  until  atonement  had  in  reality 
been  made.  The  fact  is  also  apparent  as  to  why  it  was  said 
unto  them  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  until 
their  brethren  and  fellow  servants  that  should  be  slain  as  they 
were  should  be  fulfilled.  The  "little  season"  is  coincident 
with  the  "short  time"  of  Satan's  great  rage  here  and,  in  the 
Trilogy,  that  of  his  brief  loosing  in  the  earth.  Within  the 
lines  of  this  "little  season"  of  his  great  rage  will  be  crowded 
the  issues  of  the  third  woe,  which,  as  here  characteristically 
lifted  to  view,  take  on  three  phases  the  details  of  which  will 
be  fully  amplified  and  completed  in  the  three  sections  of  the 
Trilogy.  With  respect  to  this  loosing  of  the  dragon  in  the 
earth  we  see  how  the  voice  from  the  blood-stained  horns  of 
the  golden  altar,  which  called  for  the  loosing  of  the  bound 


238  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Euphrates  angels,  correlates  with  these  expanding  lines  of 
the  symbolism.  The  angel  before  the  golden  altar,  offering 
his  incense  with  the  prayers  of  the  saints,  and  the  great  Pro- 
tagonist, mingling  his  blood  upon  this  field  with  those  who 
loved  not  their  lives  unto  the  death,  are  but  different  phases 
of  the  same  great  redemptive  truth. 

Having  in  its  quadrate  and  triad  so  fully  set  forth  the  issues 
relative  to  this  war  in  heaven,  attention  now  is  turned  away 
from  this  triumphant  field  to  contemplate  the  situation  which 
must  in  consequence  rise  to  view.  The  white-robed  martyrs 
may  indeed  rejoice,  for  theirs  is  the  assured  "kingdom  of 
heaven,"  but  upon  the  earth  there  settles  the  awful  shadow  of 
the  coming  of  its  most  fearful  Woe,  and  so  the  heavenly 
voicing  proclaims  in  the  addendum  that  follows :  "Therefore 
(i)  rejoice,  ye  heavens,  (2)  and  ye  that  dwell  in  them. 
(3)  Woe  to  the  inhabiters  of  the  earth  (4)  and  of  the 
sea!  (5)  for  the  devil  is  come  down  unto  you,  (6)  having 
great  wrath,  (7)  because  he  knoweth  that  he  hath  but  a  short 
time."  It  is  undoubtedly  with  set  purpose  that  this  divine 
voice  directs  attention  to  the  two  points  from  which  will 
issue  the  dual  figures  of  the  coming  woe  which  is  here  an- 
nounced as  at  hand. 

The  Double  Wilderness  Flight  of  the  Woman 
The  question  here  raised  by  this  double  flight  of  the  sun- 
robed  woman,  important  as  it  is,  need  not  detain  us.  With 
the  light  now  thrown  upon  this  great  central  section  of  the 
Apocalypse  it  should  not  be  difficult  to  grasp  the  thus  clearly 
delineated  fact  of  the  double  depression  of  the  divine  king- 
dom in  the  earth,  from  the  standpoint  of  Sinai  and  again  from 
that  of  the  cross.  Expositors  have  diligently  sought  to  find 
some  sort  of  rational  adjustment  of  this  wilderness  symbolism 
with  that  of  Israel's  exodus  wanderings  in  the  Arabian  deserts, 
and  again  they  have  conceived  that  it  must  certainly  relate 
to  the  recession  of  the  Christian  church  before  the  corruptions 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  239 

and  persecutions  of  the  papacy ;  but  in  each  case  they  are 
thralled  by  the  troublesome  factor  of  the  associate  time  period, 
which,  as  translated  into  literal  years,  refused  to  open  the 
rigid  lips  of  the  mystery. 

A  striking  illustration,  or  rather  suggestion,  of  the  mystic 
base  of  this  wilderness  imagery  should  be  recalled  as  given 
in  the  book  of  the  Christophany  in  its  introduction  of  the 
mystic  figure  of  a  woman,  bearing  the  name  of  the  wicked 
daughter  of  Ethbaal,  associate  with  symbolism  that  is  clearly 
anticipative  of  the  development  of  the  symbolism  of  this  final 
woe.  The  period  is  one  of  the  darkest  in  the  history  of  Israel. 
Ahab,  the  crafty  and  conscienceless  king,  is  on  the  Israelite 
throne.  The  power  behind  the  throne  is  this  lewd  and  idol- 
atrous queen  surrounded  by  the  abominable  priests  of  Baal. 
The  worship  of  Jehovah  had  been  superseded  by  the  unspeak- 
able rites  of  phallic  heathenism.  The  bloody  hand  of  Jezebel 
had  almost  exterminated  the  prophets  of  God,  a  few  only 
being  concealed  in  the  dens  of  the  mountains.  To  meet  the 
exigencies  of  the  hour  Elijah,  the  man  of  fire,  is  raised  up, 
who  delivers  his  divine  message  to  the  throne  and  is  then 
hid  away  from  the  face  of  this  persecuting  power  for  the 
literal  period  of  three  years  and  a  half,  being  sustained  by  the 
provident  watch-care  of  God.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period 
the  prophet  suddenly  emerges  from  his  hiding  place,  faces  the 
throne,  and  enters  into  a  life-and-death  struggle  with  the 
priests  of  Baal.  On  the  summit  of  Carmel  he  takes  a  signal 
victory.  Jehovah  with  fire  from  heaven  supports  his  lone 
messenger.  The  priests  of  Baal  are  slaughtered,  and  the  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah  is  again  placed  in  the  ascendant.  But  subse- 
quent to  this  most  glorious  victory  Elijah  weakens  before  the 
frenzied  spirit  that  he  had  aroused  in  the  persecuting  queen 
and  flees  again  to  the  solitudes  of  the  wilderness,  subsequently 
to  meet  the  chariot  of  God  and  reach  his  home  in  heaven. 
Thus  the  figure  of  a  lascivious  heathenism  insinuating  itself 
into  a  position  of  power  behind  the  Israelite  throne,  and  reduc- 


240  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

ing  it  to  a  truculent  subserviency,  is  made  to  give  the  reflex 
of  the  coming  Woe. 

This  period  of  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  days,  which  marks 
the  first  wilderness  era,  is  a  mystic  half-seven,  and  charac- 
terizes this  adverse  condition  of  the  divine  kingdom  without 
regard  to  literal  years.  That  it  is  expressed  in  the  same 
numeric  manner  as  that  which  marks  the  period  of  the  sack- 
cloth era  of  the  two  witnesses  fairly  determines  their  identity, 
as  in  the  same  manner  the  use  of  the  numeric  "forty-two 
months"  with  respect  to  the  period  of  the  treading  down  of 
the  holy  city  by  the  Gentiles  and  the  period  of  the  coming 
beast  also  establishes  their  coincidence.  The  witnesses  proph- 
esy in  humiliation,  and  are  finally  slain  by  the  beast,  and 
the  starry  crown  of  the  divine  kingdom  is  hurled  into  the  dust. 
The  forty-two  months  of  the  beast  and  of  the  third  woe  is 
therefore  the  era  of  Gentile  supremacy,  while  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  in  the  dust  and  under  the  Gentile  foot.  One  of 
the  most  important  suggestions  here  given  is  that,  as  these 
half-sevens  united  round  out  a  full  seven,  they  comprise  the 
entire  period  of  this  adverse  condition  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
That  the  second  flight  of  the  woman  is  marked  by  the  phrase 
"time,  and  times,  and  half  a  time,"  which  has  no  apocalyptic 
parallel,  suggests  that  we  must  look  for  its  elucidation  in 
the  prophecy  of  Daniel.  The  Satanic  persecution,  flood  of 
waters,  and  war  with  the  remnant  of  the  woman's  seed,  all 
are  phases  of  the  course  of  the  third  woe,  each  possessing 
teaching  points  of  the  greatest  importance.  In  the  fact  that 
this  double  adverse  period  of  the  kingdom  thus  reaches  its 
limiting  lines  of  characterization,  and  that  the  trine  phase  of 
the  panorama  to  be  retraced  in  the  Trilogy  is  fully  introduced, 
any  such  conception  as  a  subsequent  binding  and  loosing  of 
the  dragon  is  positively  ruled  out  by  the  rigid  law  of  develop- 
ment which  governs  every  section  and  paragraph  of  the  book. 

It  is  essential  to  the  perfection  of  a  photograph  that  all 
of  its   features   be   carefully   and   uniformly   developed.      So 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  241 

with  the  Hues  of  this  great  apocalyptic  hieroglyph  of  biblical 
truth.  No  one  of  its  phases  may  be  slighted  without  the  con- 
scious loss  of  some  element  necessary  to  the  perfection  of  the 
picture  to  be  thrown  upon  the  screen.  Thus  the  reader  may 
profitably  linger  over  even  the  minutest  lines  that  have  been 
traced  by  the  Divine  Limner  in  this  section. 

If  we  accept  the  popular  exposition  of  this  war  in  heaven 
it  is  inexplicable  how  it  could  be  said  of  the  devil  and  his 
angels  that  "their  place  was  found  no  more  in  heaven"  unless 
there  had  been  an  entire  shift  of  the  plane  of  battle;  which 
was  clearly  not  the  case  if  the  struggle  was  with  pagan  Rome. 
It  is  also  as  difficult  to  comprehend  wherein  this  great  victory 
lay  if  the  triumphant  forces,  after  dealing  this  stunning  blow 
to  the  great  antagonist,  should  allow  him  to  immediately  re- 
form his  lines  and  inaugurate  hell  on  earth.  But  it  is  the 
critics  that  limp  here,  and  not  the  text.  As  the  dragon  is 
cast  out  of  heaven  the  full  quadrate  of  his  name,  suggested 
in  the  four  winds,  is  not  only  disclosed,  but  a  most  important 
factor  is  also  placed  in  associate  position.  As  he  is  thus  cast 
out  of  heaven  it  is  said  of  him,  not  only  by  way  of  recognition 
of  a  well-known  trait  of  his  character,  "which  deceiveth  the 
whole  earth,"  but  to  characterize  the  manner  in  which  he  will 
thrall  the  Christian  age.  In  the  very  presence  of  the  cross  he 
will  deceive  the  whole  world — the  inhabiters  of  the  earth 
and  of  the  sea.  How  great  his  success  is  attested  by  the  entire 
history  of  the  so-called  Christian  era.  He  first  deceived  the 
Jews  with  respect  to  Christ  as  their  Messiah.  He  entered  into 
the  heart  of  Judas  and  prevailed  upon  him  to  betray  him. 
He  roused  the  whole  nation  to  such  a  pitch  of  frenzy  that  they, 
unheeding  the  darkening  heavens  and  the  quaking  earth,  lifted 
him  upon  the  cross  and  mocked  his  dying  agonies.  His  de- 
ception of  the  Jew  was  a  monumental  success,  and  remains  so 
up  to  the  present  hour. 

The  character  of  the  Christ  they  crucified  was  the  most 
beautiful  that  has  ever  been  developed  among  the  sons  of  men. 


242  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

It  stands  to-day,  before  the  rolling  centuries,  unapproachable 
in  its  divine  majesty.  Even  the  baldest  infidelity  has  been 
compelled  to  acknowledge  him  as  the  most  manly  man  that 
has  ever  trodden  the  planet.  Yet  the  Jews,  unawed  by  his 
sublime  presence  and  in  the  face  of  the  divine  attestation  of 
his  character,  by  his  unearthly  life,  mighty  works,  the  mar- 
velous scene  of  his  death,  and  the  certainty  of  his  resurrection, 
rushed  forward  in  the  frenzy  that  had  seized  them,  a  frenzy 
such  as  never  before  had  been  known  to  human  history.  They 
madly  took  upon  their  heads,  and  those  also  of  their  children, 
the  blood  of  the  innocent  Christ.  And  now,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  twentieth  century,  there  is  no  name  of  tyrant  or  people 
— at  whose  hands  he  has  suffered  the  long-drawn-out  horror 
that  has  shadowed  his  race  for  nearly  two  thousand  years — 
that  will  so  rouse  the  smoldering  fires  of  hate  in  the  breast 
of  the  Jew  as  will  the  mention  of  the  name  of  the  sinless  One 
whom  he  so  cruelly  crucified.  The  Jew  has  been  most  terribly 
deceived,  and  robbed  of  his  promised  Shiloh,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  divine  kingdom  has  been  taken  from  him  and  the 
foot  of  the  Gentile  power  planted  firmly  upon  his  most  sacred 
places.  Sequent  to  this  universal  humanity  was  also  deceived, 
and  robbed  of  its  Saviour,  as  had  been  Israel.  The  true 
gospel  of  Christ  was  smothered  under  a  monstrous  system  of 
woman  worship.  A  paganized  world-wide  and  world-power- 
ful ecclesiasticism  burned  the  Bible  and  those  who  dared  to 
read  it,  and  inaugurated  that  wild  orgy  in  the  earth  concern- 
ing which  this  book  will  some  day  speak  in  tones  of  thunder. 

These  three  paragraphs  which  complete  this  Basilophanic 
grouping,  and  which  outline  the  activity  of  the  dragon  with 
respect  to  the  coming  woe,  must  be  conceived  as  generics  to 
be  expanded  in  the  coming  panorama.    The  first  presents 

Draconic  Persecution 
Previous  to  this  point  of  the  augmentation  of  Satan's  power 
in  the  earth  persecution  for  righteousness'  sake  had  marked 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  243 

the  entire  course  of  the  ages.  Paul  saw  a  great  cloud  of 
martyrs  who  had  "trial  of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgings," 
who  were  stoned,  and  sawn  asunder,  slain  with  the  sword,  of 
whom  the  world  was  not  worthy.  They  are  the  contingent 
under  the  altar,  to  whom  the  white  robes  were  given,  and 
whose  "rest"  is  that  of  this  little  season  during  which  their 
brethren  would  be  slain  as  they  had  been.  The  spirit  of 
persecution  began  with  Cain,  and  from  his  day  forward  blood 
has  never  ceased  to  cry  unto  God  since  it  reddened  the  ground 
at  Abel's  altar.  But  all  previous  experience  of  suffering  for 
loyalty  to  God,  even  in  the  darkest  hours,  bears  little  compari- 
son with  what  now  will  horrify  the  world  as  the  loosened 
devil  loosens  his  lions,  lights  the  fagots,  and  plies  the  tortures 
of  his  "Holy  Inquisition." 

First  he  stirred  up  the  Jews  to  quaff  this  bloody  goblet. 
Next  pagan  Rome  relieved  the  Jew  of  his  task  and  included 
him  in  the  terrible  holocaust  of  blood  which  drenched  the 
early  Christian  centuries.  But  the  great  infernal  masterpiece 
of  all,  that  was  to  eclipse  the  darkest  deeds  of  savagery,  was 
that  which  papal  Rome  evoked  from  the  lowest  hell  with 
which  to  terrify  the  faithful  followers  of  Christ  into  submis- 
sion. The  dire  result  shows  what  man  is  capable  of  doing 
to  his  brother  man  when  fully  dominated  by  the  power  of  the 
devil.  How  the  papacy  has  glutted  itself  with  human  gore 
has  passed  upon  the  page  of  history,  and  Rome  will  vainly 
try  to  rub  it  out.  Fifty  million  martyrs  is  the  lowest  number 
that  can  be  charitably  put  to  her  credit,  while  what  the  maxi- 
mum number  may  be  will  only  be  known  when  a  just  God  shall 
whet  his  sword  and  make  inquisition  for  blood.  This  horrible 
apocalyptic  monster,  drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints  and 
martyrs  of  Jesus,  answers  to  history  as  the  die  answers  to 
the  lines  of  the  seal,  and  the  blear-eyed  creature  is  so  drunk 
that  she  cannot  see  it. 


244  ^iiE  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Draconic  Flood  of  Waters 
Under  the  second  woe  we  beheld,  as  the  sequence  of  the 
loosing  of  the  four  angels  bound  in  the  great  Euphrates,  the 
sudden  rise  of  a  mighty  deluge  that  rushed  forward  through 
the  earth,  bearing  upon  its  crest  the  mystic  shadow  of  spiritual 
death.  Here,  as  the  woman  flies  in  terror  from  the  face  of 
the  infuriated  dragon,  we  see  a  flood  of  waters  sent  after  her 
from  his  cavernous  mouth  to  whelm  her.  Like  all  other 
apocalyptic  figures,  this  has  received  varied  and  fanciful  inter- 
pretation. The  correlate  symbolism  here  clarifies  the  mean- 
ing of  the  figure.  This  Euphrates  flood  flows  onward,  across 
the  lines  of  the  Trilogy,  to  be  finally  dried  before  the  tri- 
umphant progress  of  the  "kings  of  the  east."  The  Old 
Testament  prophet  saw  this  flood  of  waters  and  designated  it 
as  extra-Israel.  It  is  but  another  phase  of  the  Gentile  foot 
upon  the  prostrate  kingdom  of  God.  The  peril  that  threatens 
Israel,  as  it  is  scattered  among  the  Gentile  nations  throughout 
the  earth,  is  that  it  will  be  whelmed  with  the  flood.  Irrational 
the  hope  that,  in  this  submerging  of  Israel  under  the  Gentile 
races,  any  trace  will  be  left  of  either  the  once  divinely  illum- 
ined kingdom  of  God  or  of  its  crowning  stars  thus  flung  in 
the  dust.  But  the  earth  helped  the  woman  by  opening  its 
mouth  and  swallowing  up  the  flood. 

Draconic  War  with  the  Remnant  of  the  Woman's  Seed 
This  remnant  has  caused  the  expositors  a  world  of  perplex- 
ity. Dusterdieck  is  so  distressed  by  it  that  he  is  led  to  deny 
that  the  woman  represents  the  church  in  any  sense.  He  aflirms 
that  "she  cannot  be  the  Jewish  church,  because  of  the  anach- 
ronism of  her  twelve  apostolic  stars  and  the  fact  that  she 
laps  over  into  the  Christian  age,  even  to  the  time  of  Con- 
stantine ;  nor  can  she  be  the  Christian  church,  for  who,  then, 
are  'the  remnant  of  her  seed'?"  To  this  argument  Alford 
seems  to  succumb,  while  Dr.  Whedon  here  takes  great  credit 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  245 

to  himself  for  not  succumbing;  though  he  fails  to  see  that  his 
"anticipatory"  method  of  dealing  with  the  woman's  double 
flight  is  destructive  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  book. 
The  chief  difficulty  in  the  case  lies  in  the  fact  that  all  these 
expositors  have  failed  to  master  the  significance  of  this  "rem- 
nant" in  the  Hebrew  prophets.  This  fact,  added  to  that  of  the 
utter  misconception  of  the  character  of  the  celestial  war, 
makes  for  them  indeed  "hard  sledding" — sending  them  into 
the  wilderness  along  with  the  woman. 

This  "remnant"  is  one  of  the  most  important  factors  of 
Old  Testament  prophecy.  It  is  indeed  most  puzzling  to  the 
critics,  necessarily  so  because  of  the  fact  that  they  have  ruled 
out  as  "a  divine  romance"  about  all  that  the  prophets  have 
had  to  say  about  it.  Always,  beyond  the  shadows  of  the  night 
which  they  saw  settling  down  upon  the  Israelitish  race,  there 
looms  this  remnant,  to  whom  the  divine  pledge  of  Jehovah, 
ratified  with  an  oath,  will  be  infallibly  fulfilled.  "Blind- 
ness in  part  is  happened  unto  Israel."  Jerusalem  will  be 
"trodden  down,  until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  shall  be  ful- 
filled";  but  beyond  arises  the  kingdom  (see  Eschatology  of 
the  Prophets). 

The  author  would  direct  attention,  in  this  connection,  to  a 
passage  in  Daniel — whose  meaning  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  penetrated  by  the  scholars — which  as  properly  translated 
will  disclose  a  striking  coincidence  with  the  characterization 
before  us.  The  prophet  is  dealing  with  his  fourth  beast, 
which  "was  exceeding  great  and  terrible,"  which  with  its 
great  iron  teeth  "devoured  and  brake  in  pieces,  and  stamped 
the  residue  with  the  feet  of  it."  The  Hebrew  word  shcazvr, 
here  translated  "residue,"  is  the  same  as  that  used  by  Isaiah 
and  translated  "remnant" — the  triumphant  Israel  of  the  Mes- 
sianic day.  This  monster  of  the  vision  of  Daniel  is  generally 
conceded  to  refer  to  Rome.  It  stamps  the  remnant  under  its 
feet;  speaks  great  words  against  the  Most  High;  makes  war 
with  the  saints  and  prevails  against  them ;  wears  them  out ; 


246  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

thinks  to  change  times  and  laws ;  these  saints  of  the  Most  High 
being  given  into  his  hand  until  a  time,  and  times,  and  the  divid- 
ing of  a  time — the  mystic  period  of  this  second  flight  of  the 
sun-robed  woman.  Again,  in  the  concluding  paragraph  of 
Daniel  this  same  period  is  employed  to  mark  the  completion 
of  the  divine  purpose  with  respect  to  the  scattering  of  Israel. 
He  says:  ''And  I  heard  the  man  clothed  in  linen,  which  was 
upon  the  waters  of  the  river,  when  he  held  up  his  right  hand 
and  his  left  hand  unto  heaven,  and  sware  by  him  that  liveth 
forever,  that  it  shall  be  for  a  time,  times,  and  an  half;  and 
when  he  shall  have  accomplished  to  scatter  the  power  of  the 
holy  people,  all  these  things  shall  be  finished."  It  need  not 
be  argued  that  these  "saints  of  the  people  of  the  Most  High" 
and  the  ''holy  people"  of  the  book  of  Daniel  are  Israelites.  It 
is  they  who  finally  take  the  kingdom.  The  harmonies  here 
so  apparent  between  Daniel  and  the  Apocalypse  will  be  more 
clearly  seen  as  the  reflex  of  the  monster  of  Daniel  will  rise 
before  us  in  the  coming  woe. 

According  to  the  consensus  of  prophecy  the  final  great  strug- 
gle for  the  mastery  of  the  'earth  is  destined  to  be  between  this 
"remnant  of  Israel"  and  the  panoplied  power  of  the  heathen 
world;  not  one  star  of  this  regal  crown  only,  but  the  whole 
twelve  raised  out  of  "the  dust  of  the  earth"  to  shine  forever 
and  ever,  as  the  old  patriarch  saw  them  when  he  stood  in  the 
door  of  his  tent  and  gazed  into  the  Syrian  sky. 

The  Apocalypse  here  may  be  all  awry,  as  it  certainly  is  at 
odds  with  the  expositors;  but  it  has  this  in  its  favor,  that  it 
seems  to  be  in  most  wonderful  accord  with  the  prophets.  A 
point  of  interest — which  the  author  has  developed  in  his  Es- 
chatology — is  that  Israel  goes  into  this  wilderness  of  her 
rejection  of  God  in  two  sections — Israel  proper,  B.  C.  721, 
and  Judah,  when  it  lost  the  kingdom  by  the  rejection  of  Christ. 
This  fact  may  be  reflected  in  the  final  statement  of  this  drag- 
onic  section,  that  "the  dragon  was  wroth  with  the  woman, 
and  went  to  make  war  with  the  remnant  of  her  seed  which 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  247 

keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  have  the  testimony  of 
Jesus  Christ."  The  Jews  do  indeed  keep  the  commandments 
of  God,  while  those  of  the  remnant  not  Jews  have  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus  Christ.  Vast  numbers  of  the  Jews  have  been 
trampled  under  the  feet  of  this  persecuting  world-power,  while 
it  is  equally  true  that  millions  not  Jews  have  stained  the  great 
altar  with  their  blood  for  this  testimony.  Dr.  Whedon's  claim 
that  the  persecution  of  this  remnant  is  purely  papal  completely 
ignores  this  possible  phase,  as  it  does  the  whole  subject  of  the 
*'ten  persecutions." 

As  we  pass  forward  to  the  Contrastive  Counterpart  of  this 
book  of  the  Pneumatophany  (chapter  14),  which  in  regular 
structural  order  brings  up  the  bright  side  of  this  third  Woe 
panorama,  disclosing  the  forces  that  are  deployed  here,  we 
meet  this  celestial  woman  again,  and  with  every  one  of  her 
twelve  stars  upon  her  brow — placed  there  by  the  bleeding 
Lamb. 

We  may  fail  to  recognize  her,  for  the  ages  have  looked 
upon  her,  as  she  stands  in  her  glorious  state  of  redeemed 
exaltation,  and  have  failed  to  see  in  the  metamorphosed  sym- 
bolism that  she  is  the  same  glorious  woman  that  leads  the 
correlate  section  of  this  book  of  the  Eternal  Spirit,  even  though 
her  name  is  given  and  the  stars  of  her  crown  fully  identified. 
The  scene  w^ith  which  this  Contrastive  Counterpart  opens  the 
bright  side  of  the  panorama,  and  which  it  places  over  against 
the  fearful  picture  of  the  third  Woe,  presents  her  as  IMount 
Zion — her  Old  Testament  name — and  her  stars  are  the  Chris- 
tianized twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  once  more  the  brilliant  dia- 
dem of  her  glory  and  ranged  under  the  leadership  of  the 
Lamb.  But  all  tribal  relations  are  merged  or  have  been  swept 
away  by  the  dragonic  flood,  and  may  not  reappear  again 
upon  the  earth,  nor  until  in  the  clear  light  of  the  Eternal  we 
may  behold  them  as  blazoned  upon  the  pearl  portals  of  the 
city;  but  the  Apocalypse  leaves  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  their 
identity.     It  has  stamped  upon  them  their  numeric  name  and 


248  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

placed  in  their  foreheads  the  seal  of  the  Eternal  Spirit,  thus 
placing  before  us  the  Basilophany  again — its  divinely  clad 
woman,  its  man  child,  and  its  royal  diadem  of  stars. 

The  Symbolism  of  the  Third  Woe 
"Now,  we  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  by  our  gathering  together  unto  him,  that  ye 
be  not  soon  shaken  in  mind,  or  be  troubled,  neither  by  spirit, 
nor  by  word,  nor  by  letter  as  from  us,  as  that  the  day  of  Christ 
is  at  hand.  Let  no  man  deceive  you  by  any  means:  for  that 
day  shall  not  come,  except  there  come  a  falling  away  first,  and 
that  man  of  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  perdition :  who  opposeth 
and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called  God,  or  that  is 
worshiped ;  so  that  he  as  God  sitteth  in  the  temple  of  God, 
showing  himself  that  he  is  God.  Remember  ye  not,  that,  when 
I  was  yet  with  you,  I  told  you  these  things?  And  now  ye 
know  what  withholdeth  that  he  might  be  revealed  in  his  time. 
For  the  mystery  of  iniquity  doth  already  work:  only  he  who 
now  letteth  will  let  [that  which  now  hindereth  will],  until  he 
be  taken  out  of  the  way:  and  then  shall  that  Wicked  be  re- 
vealed, whom  the  Lord  shall  consume  with  the  spirit  of  his 
mouth,  and  shall  destroy  with  the  brightness  of  his  coming; 
even  him,  whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan  with  all 
power  and  signs  and  lying  wonders,  and  with  all  deceivable- 
ness  of  unrighteousness  in  them  that  perish;  because  they  re- 
ceived not  the  love  of  the  truth,  that  they  might  be  saved. 
And  for  this  cause  God  shall  send  them  strong  delusion,  that 
they  should  believe  a  lie :  that  they  all  might  be  damned  who 
believed  not  the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteousness" 
(2  Thess.  2). 

That  this  extended  statement  of  Paul  In  cold  prose  relates 
to  the  same  subject  which  John  here  presents  in  apocalyptic 
symbol  is  so  generally  received  as  not  to  call  for  serious  dis- 
cussion. In  view  of  this  fact,  may  it  not  be  possible  that 
this  constraint,  which  he  recognizes  as  barring  the  immediate 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  249 

appearance  of  this  monster  of  iniquity,  has  been  misinter- 
preted ?  He  clearly  recognizes  the  fact  that  the  leash  has  been 
thrown  off  the  power  of  Satan ;  for  in  his  production  of  this, 
his  great  masterpiece,  his  "working"  is  with  ''all  pozver  and 
signs  and  lying  wonders,  and  with  all  dcceivablcncss  of  unright- 
eousness in  them  that  perish."  May  it  not  be  possible  that 
Paul  and  John  are  in  perfect  agreement  here  with  respect  to 
this  "restraint"  which  both  see  as  interposing  with  respect 
to  the  development  of  this  monster  of  the  great  apostasy  ?  The 
understanding  here  is  that  it  is  the  decadent  Roman  empire 
that  must  be  taken  out  of  the  way  ere  this  "man  of  sin"  can 
appear  upon  the  scene ;  but  if  this  were  the  point  in  question, 
then  it  ought  to  find  characterization  in  this  symbolism.  This 
great  beast  from  the  sea  ought  to  pass  out  of  the  arena.  But 
he  is  not  thus  "taken  out  of  the  way."  Pie  continues  as  the 
lively  and  most  essential  principal  of  this  monster  of  the  Woe, 
even  up  to  the  very  last  stand  that  is  made  upon  the  great 
field  of  Armageddon.  The  Apocalypse  here  is  strengthened  by 
Saint  Paul,  as  the  statement  he  makes  is  in  a  reciprocal  manner 
illumined.  The  period  of  this  restraint  of  Satan  was  still  on 
at  the  time  of  his  writing.  Though  the  blood  of  the  atonement 
upon  the  horns  of  the  golden  altar  called  for  the  loosing  of 
the  Euphrates  angels,  yet  it  was  not  until  the  hour  of  the 
assumption  of  the  Two  Witnesses  that  the  "great  earthquake" 
broke  loose.  Or,  in  other  words,  it  was  not  until  the  last  line 
had  been  written  in  the  inspired  Word  of  God  that  these  divine 
forces  were  fully  in  the  field  and  the  great  Antagonist  given 
a  free  hand  in  the  earth. 

This  section,  which  completes  the  adverse  side  of  the  book 
of  the  Pneumatophany,  presents  the  figures  of  the  third  Woe. 
That  the  symbolism  here  takes  an  expanded  range  is  in  per- 
fect accord  with  the  law  of  enunciation  with  respect  to  the 
final  utterance  of  each  of  these  groupings  of  seals,  trumpets, 
and  vials.  Two  figures  now  appear  upon  the  apocalyptic  scroll 
in  succession,  with  a  most  important  structural  voicing  segre- 


250  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

gating  them.  They  are  diverse  in  point  of  origin,  though  they 
are  shown  by  the  law  of  heredity  to  be  of  the  same  parentage. 
They  are  diverse  in  their  physical  character,  though  closely 
united  in  spirit  and  aim.  One,  coming  up  from  the  depths  of 
the  sea,  is  in  the  likeness  of  the  devil,  while  the  other,  arising 
out  of  the  earth,  has  the  devil  inside  of  him  and  articulates 
with  Satanic  voice.  The  fullness  of  the  powers  of  each  blend 
together  in  the  amazing  mystery  of  iniquity.  The  apocalyptic 
completeness  of  both  figures  is  indicated  in  the  fact  that  with 
respect  to  each  a  grouping  of  sevens  deploys  them  upon  the 
field  of  action,  bisecting  their  field  of  operation  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  sections  in  the  Basilophanic  grouping  preceding. 
This  structural  marking  is  of  such  vital  importance  that  it 
is  noted  by  an  especial  prompting.  "If  any  man  have  an  ear, 
let  him  hear."  The  structural  significance  of  this  divisional 
line  is  that  the  arena  of  these  theria  is  the  same  as  that  previ- 
ously presented  in  the  Basilophany,  the  second  finding  its 
sphere  of  operations  in  connection  with  the  time,  times,  and  a 
half,  or  short  period  of  the  loosing  of  Satan  in  the  earth,  while 
the  therion  of  the  sea  belongs  originally  to  the  first  period 
of  the  Basilophany,  yet  continues  throughout  the  entire  course 
of  the  third  Woe,  during  which  he  is  under  the  complete  dom- 
ination of  his  confrere  who  exercises  all  his  power. 

If  it  be  conceded  that  the  figure  of  the  sun-robed  Woman  has 
indeed  been  correctly  interpreted  as  a  Basilophany,  or  mystic 
personification  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  then,  by  virtue  of 
their  antithetic  position,  these  figures  now  before  us,  which 
may  be  designated  as  a  dual  Theriophany,  are  clearly  identified 
as  the  ''kingdom  of  the  world,"  and  thus  show  that  the  gage 
of  battle  in  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  is,  as  indicated  in 
the  leading  exponential  voicing,  betw^een  ''the  kingdom  of  the 
world"  and  that  "of  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Christ."  This  aggre- 
gation of  secular  and  spiritual  power  becomes  the  instrument 
in  and  through  which  the  dragonic  rage  is  poured  forth  during 
the  short  time  of  Satan's  loosing.     Again,  the  interpretation 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  251 

of  this  woe  symbolism  as  of  governmental  import  is  fully 
sustained  by  precedent  in  the  prophecy  of  Daniel.  The  four 
beasts  of  his  vision  are  all  divinely  interpreted  as  having  gov- 
ernmental significance,  his  last  and  most  terrible  monster  being 
generally  conceded  as  standing  for  the  Roman  empire.  Out 
of  the  body  of  this  beast,  which  is  the  one  that  stamps  the 
remnant  under  his  feet,  there  comes  forth  a  little  horn  which 
develops  the  same  relation  to  its  source  as  this  second  monster 
of  the  Woe  does  to  his  principal.  These  features,  which  can 
be  only  touched  upon  here  in  passing,  are  sufficient  to  fix  the 
scope  of  these  their  correlates.  The  "little  horn"  is  the  power, 
in  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  which  makes  war  with  the  saints 
of  the  people  of  the  Most  High  and  wears  them  out  during  this 
mystic  period  of  a  time,  times,  and  a  half,  which  period  and 
circumstance  again  appearing  in  the  section  before  us  fix  the 
era  of  the  woe. 

The  Great  Marine  Therion 

The  Dual  Figures  of  the  Theriophany 

Structural  Analysis  of  the  Grouping 

The  apocalyptic  completeness  of  this  figure  is  indicated  by 

the  striking  employment  of  the  sub-seven  in  the  development 

of  his  physical  features.     Attention  can  only  be  called  to  this 

point,  in  passing,  by  numeric  notation. 

THE   quadrate 

(i)  "And  I  stood  upon  the  sand  of  the  sea,  and  saw  a  beast 
rise  up  out  of  the  sea,  (i)  having  seven  heads  (2)  and  ten 
horns,  (3)  and  upon  his  horns  ten  crowns,  (4)  and  upon  his 
heads  the  name  of  blasphemy."  (Note  the  dual  triad.) 
"(5)  And  the  beast  which  I  saw  was  like  unto  a  leopard, 
(6)  and  his  feet  were  as  the  feet  of  a  bear,  (7)  and  his  mouth 
as  the  mouth  of  a  lion,  (i)  And  the  dragon  gave  him  his 
power,  (2)  and  his  throne,  (3)  and  great  authority." 

(2)  "(i)  And  I  saw  one  of  his  heads  as  it  were  wounded 


252  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

to  death;  (2)  and  his  deadly  wound  was  healed;  (3)  and  all 
the  world  wondered  after  the  beast." 

(3)  "And  they  worshiped  the  dragon  which  gave  power 
unto  the  beast:  and  they  worshiped  the  beast,  saying,  Who  is 
like  unto  the  beast  ?  who  is  able  to  make  war  with  him  ?" 

(4)  *'And  there  was  given  unto  him  a  mouth  speaking  great 
things  and  blasphemies;  and  power  was  given  unto  him  to 
continue  forty  and  two  months." 

THE    TRIAD 

(5)  ''And  he  opened  his  mouth  in  blasphemy  against  God, 
to  blaspheme  his  name,  and  his  tabernacle,  and  them  that  dwell 
in  heaven." 

(6)  ''And  it  was  given  unto  him  to  make  war  with  the 
saints,  and  to  overcome  them:  and  power  was  given  him  over 
all  kindreds,  and  tongues,  and  nations."  (Note  how  the  quad- 
rate is  made  to  include  the  saints.) 

(7)  "And  all  that  dwell  upon  the  earth  shall  worship  him, 
whose  names  are  not  written  in  the  book  of  life  of  the  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world." 

This  figure  presents  a  striking  reflex  of  the  dragon.  He 
has  the  same  number  of  heads  and  horns,  the  only  notable 
difference  being  with  respect  to  the  number  of  the  diadems 
and  their  position.  The  dragon  wears  seven  upon  his  heads, 
while  the  figure  of  the  therion  presents  ten  diadems,  not  upon 
the  heads  of  the  monster  but  worn  upon  his  horns.  The 
thought  thus  may  be  that  of  the  fullness  of  Satanic  power  as 
inherent  in  the  figure  of  the  dragon  but  as  mediate  in  its  uni- 
versality, being  exercised  through  this  symbolism  of  the  horns. 
The  power,  throne,  and  great  authority  of  the  beast  are  directly 
conferred  by  the  dragon ;  though  this  crowning  of  the  horns 
determines  the  fact  that  the  aggregate  of  his  power  is  that 
of  the  universal  support  of  the  "kingdoms  of  this  world." 
Commentators  here,  in  their  zeal  to  forge  thunderbolts  against 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  253 

the  papacy,  are  led  to  transgress  the  fundamental  law  with 
regard  to  the  inflexibility  of  the  symbolism  of  the  book.  Dr. 
Whedon,  for  instance,  holds  that  this  first  therion  stands  for 
papal  Rome  while  the  second  is  simply  a  differentiation  of 
the  first,  being  Rome  secular  and  Rome  ecclesiastical.  Our 
thunderbolts  will  be  all  the  more  effective  when  they  are  legit- 
imately drawn  from  the  arsenal  of  divine  truth;  the  figure 
unquestionably  stands  for  the  universal  world-power,  and  is 
therefore  larger  than  Rome. 

In  the  first  paragraph  of  the  above  analysis  of  this  section 
attention  was  called  to  a  profundity  with  respect  to  its  double 
triad.  This  feature,  it  will  be  remembered,  appears  in  the 
exponents  of  the  Christophany,  and  was  held  to  be  significant 
of  the  introduction  of  the  coordinate  Contrastive  Counterpart. 
As  it  stands  in  this  section  it  apparently  introduces  a  redun- 
dancy which  will  not  disappear  in  any  method  of  attempted 
combination.  If  strictly  aligned  it  gives  us  eight  paragraphic 
groupings  instead  of  the  usual  seven.  As  this  symbolism  of 
the  Woe  is  rearranged  in  the  Trilogy  we  find  that  it  there 
develops  an  eighth  factor,  and  that  it  is  so  stated.  While 
this  fact  may  be  better  studied  from  that  advanced  standpoint, 
yet  it  should  be  noted  here  as  indicative  of  the  symmetrical 
adjustments  of  the  different  phases  of  the  passing  panorama. 

It  has  been  accepted  as  one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  this  exposition  that  the  introduction  of  any  of  the  symbols 
associate  with  Old  Testament  prophecy  carries  with  it  the 
fact  that  the  truth  or  principle  it  represents  is  to  be  understood 
as  embodied  in  its  apocalyptic  setting.  Illustrations  of  this 
principle  have  been  frequently  given.  That  it  finds  application 
in  the  case  before  us  cannot  be  doubted.  This  great  therion 
of  the  sea  is  disclosed  as  a  composite  of  the  diverse  beasts  of 
the  vision  of  Daniel,  through  which  he  follows  the  course  of 
world-empire.  Daniel  first  introduced  the  lion,  the  Babylonian 
power  which  placed  its  foot  upon  the  prostrate  kingdom  of 
God  ;  second,  a  bear,  the  sequent  IMedo-Persian  empire  ;  and  the 


254  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

third  a  leopard  with  four  heads,  the  Greek  rule;  and,  as  the 
finality,  a  terrible  monster  that  does  not  seem  to  find  any  ani- 
mal type  sufficiently  monstrous  to  characterize  its  dreadful 
visual  appearance,  and  which  in  a  structural  sense  can  be  none 
other  than  the  universal  empire  of  Rome. 

Now,  this  therion  of  the  sea  is  both  a  composite  of  these 
beasts  of  Daniel  and  a  striking  reflection  of  the  dragon. 
Daniel's  four  beasts  have  seven  heads — the  leopard  having 
four,  the  others  one  each.  The  fact  that  this  order  of  sequence 
places  all  the  horns  upon  the  head  of  this  last  monster,  which 
was  "dreadful  and  terrible,  and  strong  exceedingly,"  carries 
with  it  a  most  important  implication.  All  these  ten  horns  should 
be  upon  the  head  of  that  division  of  the  figure  which  stands 
for  Rome,  and  not  distributed  upon  all  the  heads,  as  is  the 
conception  of  the  illustrative  prints.  As  has  been  noted,  the 
Basilophanic  figure,  as  it  next  appears,  is  metamorphosed  into 
a  glorious  mountain  (chapter  14).  As  strikingly  illustrative 
of  the  dominance  of  the  same  law  upon  the  adverse  side  of 
the  panorama,  these  seven  heads  of  the  beast  also  in  the  Trilogy 
metamorphose  into  "seven  mountains  on  which  the  woman  sit- 
teth"  (17.  9).  Here,  as  their  meaning  is  interpreted,  they  are 
shown  to  have  indeed  the  same  governmental  significance  that 
attaches  to  them  in  Daniel.  Five  of  them  are  shown  to  relate 
to  monarchies  of  the  past,  one  only  being  conceptually  present 
at  the  time  of  writing.  This  fact  fully  determines  the  range 
of  this  therionic  figure,  as  it  does  the  necessity  of  understand- 
ing that  all  these  ten  horns  are — must  be — upon  this  one  head ; 
inasmuch  as  the  world-power  symbolized  in  them  does  not  fall 
with  these  lapsed  empires,  but  passes  forward  to  the  head  that 
is  still  living  and  regnant.  Anticipating  this  important  identi- 
fication of  the  Trilogy,  another  equally  important  point  is 
brought  out  in  the  clear ;  the  expositional  value  of  this  passage 
must  excuse  its  introduction  out  of  its  order:  "And  here  is 
the  mind  that  hath  wisdom.  The  seven  heads  are  seven 
mountains,  on  which  the  woman  sitteth.    And  there  are  seven 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  255 

kings:  five  arc  fallen,  and  one  is,  and  the  other  is  not  yet 
come;  and  zvhen  he  is  come  he  must  continue  a  short  space'' 
— the  period  of  Satan's  loosing. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  only  one  of  these  seven  heads 
was  a  potential  reality  at  the  time  of  the  writing  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse, five  having  already  fallen  and  one  not  yet  come,  it 
would  seem  a  legitimate  inference  to  hold  that  the  head  that 
received  the  death  stroke  and  was  healed  must  be  the  one  that 
is  conceptually  in  the  field  of  the  celestial  war.  It  was  the 
sword  stroke  of  Michael  which  gave  assurance  of  the  triumph 
of  the  divine  kingdom,  which  fact  is  reflected  in  this  head 
wounded  unto  death.  The  healing  of  the  stroke  is  explained 
by  the  second  period  of  the  depression  of  the  divine  kingdom, 
coincident  with  this  period,  so  often  presented,  of  Satan's 
loosing  in  the  earth. 

Correlate  with  Daniel's  vision  of  the  beasts  is  that  of  the 
great  image  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  dream.  This  also  as  divinely 
interpreted  is  shown  to  have  the  same  governmental  signifi- 
cance. In  the  component  parts,  of  gold,  silver,  brass,  iron, 
and  clay,  we  have  in  another  guise  the  passing  of  the  world- 
power  through  the  course  of  the  ages.  A  stone,  cut  out  of 
the  mountain  without  hands,  smites  this  great  metallic  aggre- 
gation upon  its  feet.  It  falls  under  the  blow  and  is  ground  to 
powder,  and  its  debris  is  swept  away  by  the  wind,  as  the  chaff 
of  the  summer  threshing  floor,  and  the  stone  becomes  a  great 
mountain  and  fills  the  whole  earth.  The  interpretation  given 
to  the  prophet  is  that  "in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God 
of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom,  which  shall  never  be  destroyed : 
and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  people,  but  it  shall 
break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall 
stand  forever"  (Dan.  2.  44).  In  his  vision  of  the  beasts  it 
is  after  the  last  and  most  terrible  has  been  "slain,  and  his 
body  destroyed,  and  given  to  the  burning  flame,"  that  the 
glory  of  this  divine  kingdom  rises  to  view.  The  Son  of  man 
appears  upon   the   scene.     "And  there  was  given   unto  him 


256  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

dominion,  and  glory,  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  peoples,  nations, 
and  languages,  should  serve  him:  his  dominion  is  an  everlast- 
ing dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  kingdom 
that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed"  (Dan.  7.  14).  Daniel's 
perspective  at  every  point  is  thus  shown  to  be  harmonious 
with  that  of  John,  which  places  this  starry  Israelite  crown 
upon  the  head  of  this  divine  woman.  With  him  it  is  the 
"people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High"  that  are  trodden 
down  by  this  persecuting  world-power,  and  it  is  to  them  that 
"the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven"  is  finally  given.  In 
the  light  of  this  cumulative  proof  that  this  therionic  symbolism 
stands  for  the  aggregate  of  the  Gentile  power  that  dominates 
the  earth  during  the  long  period  of  the  depression  of  the  divine 
kingdom  in  the  earth,  coincident  with  the  scattering  of  the 
power  of  the  holy  people,  and  that  prophecy  thus  assures  their 
rising  again  to  become  supreme  in  the  earth,  it  follows  that 
this  Apocalypse  would  now  appear  as  inharmonious  with  the 
prophets  did  it  not  in  this  striking  manner  recognize  the  con- 
tinuity of  Israel.  It  is  with  set  purpose  that  Saint  John  intro- 
duces into  this  mighty  struggle  of  the  Apocalypse  this  glorious 
deliverer  of  Israel,  whom  Daniel  calls  Michael,  "the  great 
Prince  that  standeth  for  the  children  of  thy  people."  Daniel 
saw  it  as  John :  "There  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such  as  never 
was  since  there  was  a  nation  even  to  that  same  time:  and  at 
that  time  thy  people  shall  be  delivered,  every  one  that  shall 
be  found  written  in  the  book.  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in 
the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and 
some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt."  Surely  Israel,  as 
this  starry  crown,  or  as  ranged  upon  Mount  Zion,  under  the 
leadership  of  the  Lamb,  is  fully  justified  by  the  prophets. 

The  clear  identification  of  this  therion  of  the  sea  renders 
it  unnecessary  to  dwell  at  length  upon  the  characteristic  fea- 
tures that  are  developed  in  the  successive  paragraphs  of  its 
section,  further  than  to  note  the  complete  harmony  that  is  in 
evidence  between  this  mvstic  characterization  and  the  historic 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatoph^ny  257 

facts  that  have  marked  the  course  of  this  great  world-power 
across  the  Gentile  age.  In  spirit  this  therion  is  anti-God; 
shown  by  the  quadrate  to  be  universally  so,  for  ''he  opened 
his  mouth  in  blasphemy  against  God,  to  blaspheme  his  name, 
and  his  tabernacle,  and  them  that  dwell  in  heaven."  The  last 
member  of  this  quadrate  is  obscure.  As  it  is  joined  to  the 
name  of  God  and  his  tabernacle  it  may  refer  occultly  to  that 
divine  Word  which  is  slaughtered  by  the  beast  of  the  pit,  or 
possibly  it  may  include  occultly  the  associate  personalities  of 
the  Deity.  No  fact  of  history  is  better  known  than  this  of 
the  blasphemous  claims  to  divine  prerogative  that  have  been 
put  forth  by  the  great  world-conquerors  all  along  the  ages. 
Kings  and  emperors,  intoxicated  with  the  power  of  conquest, 
have  from  time  immemorial  claimed  to  be  divine.  Even  such 
a  despicable  wretch  as  Nero  was  in  his  own  estimation  a  god. 
Herod  was  thus  lauded  at  Caesarea,  while  the  emperor  of  China 
is  known  by  all  his  subjects  as  "the  son  of  heaven."  The 
doctrine  of  the  ''divine  right  of  kings"  throughout  this  entire 
world-age  has  been  steadily  maintained  by  its  oppressors.  But, 
as  shown  up  in  this  symbolism  of  the  Apocalypse,  the  preroga- 
tives thus  claimed  were  directly  conferred  by  the  devil ;  who 
bestowed  upon  this  monster  that  wears  his  likeness  "power, 
and  his  throne,  and  great  authority."  And  rarely,  very,  very 
rarely,  has  the  creature  that  he  has  thus  endowed  ever  betrayed 
its  trust.  It  has  ruled  the  ages  for  him.  To  associate  God  in 
the  crowning  of  a  libidinous  ruler  is  very  closely  allied  to 
blasphemy. 

There  are,  of  course,  individual  instances  with  respect  to 
which  the  hand  of  God  has  been  put  forth  in  the  affairs  of 
kings  and  kingdoms  in  this  world ;  it  is  the  generic  truth  that 
here  finds  characterization.  The  great  world-power  always 
has  been,  and  still  is,  anti-God  and,  as  will  appear,  anti-Christ, 
to  whom  alone  belongs  the  divine  right  of  sovereignty  in  the 
earth  (Psa.  2;  Ezek.  21.  26,  2^^. 

As  significant  of  the  mystic  time  period  that  is  here  especially 


258  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

marked,  attention  is  directed  to  the  difference  in  phraseology 
between  verse  9  of  this  section  and  the  closing  statement  of 
the  last  section.  The  dragon  makes  war  with  **the  remnant" 
of  the  woman's  seed  who  ''keep  the  commandments  of  God, 
and  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ,"  while  the  beast  simply 
makes  war  with  "the  saints" — one  wing  of  the  divine  forces. 
He  is  not,  up  to  the  point  of  his  union  with  the  beast  next  to 
appear,  which  will  dominate  the  section  that  immediately  fol- 
lows, placed  as  in  antagonism  to  Christ.  His  mystic  sphere 
of  action  is  here  antecedent  to  the  hour  of  his  manifestation. 
It  is  the  earthborn  therion  who  assumes  the  character  of  Anti- 
christ. Upon  his  head  he  wears  the  horns  of  the  Lamb  though 
his  voice  betrays  the  dragon  within  him. 

Before  passing  to  the  sphere  of  this  figure  now  at  the  thresh- 
old attention  should  be  carefully  directed  to  the  divisional 
structural  marking  which  separates  these  sections,  though  the 
uncertainty  which  attaches  to  the  text  precludes  positive  deduc- 
tion. The  office  of  this  utterance  seems  to  be  the  same  as  that 
which  follows  the  War  in  heaven,  as  the  divisional  marking  of 
that  section.  At  this  point  the  ear  must  be  especially  alert 
to  catch  the  significance  of  these  figures  and  their  office,  while 
the  exponential  voicing  here,  as  before,  lifts  the  veil  upon  the 
river  of  death,  which  will  brim  its  banks  in  the  coming  Woe. 

This  exponential  voicing,  which  here  arrests  the  onward 
movement  of  this  woe  panorama,  unquestionably  has  the  same 
office  as  that  which  constitutes  the  interlude  of  the  Basiloph- 
any,  save  in  its  scope.  It  is  a  quadrate,  and  not,  like  that,  a 
seven.  It  tells  us,  in  this  mystic  numeric  voice  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse, that  the  section  which  it  governs  is  not  complete ;  that 
its  triad  lies  farther  on.  Thus,  with  carefully  aligned  index 
finger  it  points  forward  to  the  Retributive  Trilogy  for  its 
expansion.  First  there  is  introduced  a  striking  utterance,  that 
courses  through  the  entire  series  of  the  seven  epistles  and 
which  nowhere  appears  in  the  celestial  series  save  here:  *Tf 
any  man  have  an  ear,  let  him  hear."    Its  design  is  not  only  that 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  259 

of  calling  attention  to  a  point  in  the  passing  panorama  that 
demands  especial  attention,  but,  as  the  express  signum  of  the 
epistles,  shows  that  they  square  with  the  section  now  rising 
to  view.  Being  the  only  exponential  voicing  associate  with  this 
section,  it  may  be  conceived  as  covering  its  entire  scope.  Thus 
the  next  paragraph  may  be  retrospective,  relating  to  the  thrall 
of  the  marine  monster  which  sends  Zion  into  captivity;  while 
the  third  paragraph  unfurls  the  black  flag  of  the  coming  Woe : 
"He  that  is  destined  for  captivity  goeth  into  captivity,"  and 
"he  that  is  destined  for  the  sword,  with  the  sword  must  he 
be  killed."  Competent  critics  suggest  that  this  is  the  correct 
rendering  of  this  somewhat  uncertain  text.  It  makes  this  expo- 
nential voicing  intelligible.  The  final  paragraph  is  most  im- 
pressive and  will  reappear  later :  "Here  is  the  patience  and  the 
faith  of  the  saints."  As  voiced  in  the  counterpart  of  this  Woe 
(14.  12),  it  is,  "Here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints;  here  are  they 
that  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  and  the  faith  of  Jesus." 
The  coincidences  of  these  voicings  can  hardly  fail,  in  the  light 
now  thrown  upon  them,  of  properly  impressing  the  reader 
(see  12.  17;  Jer.  15.  2). 

The  Terrene  Therion — Pseudo-Prophetophany 
This  therion  arises  from  the  earth,  as  his  predecessor  did 
from  the  sea.  It  was  into  the  sea  that  the  great  burning  moun- 
tain plunged,  antecedent  to  the  rise  of  this  monster  from  its 
crimsoned  waves.  The  sea  is  the  symbol  of  political  humanity. 
This  figure,  as  rising  out  of  the  earth,  shows  not  only  a  diverse 
point  of  origin,  but  that  he  is  mystically  born  of  the  world  and 
the  symbolic  embodiment  of  its  spirit — a  groundling.  He  is 
the  mouthpiece  of  the  devil,  and  becomes  the  dominant  power 
in  the  "kingdom  of  the  world"  which  goes  down  before  the 
mighty  battle  charge  of  Armageddon.  He  is  the  final  figure 
of  the  great  quadrate  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  and 
of  the  great  seven  of  the  combined  books.  Upon  each  of  the 
seven  heads  of  the  marine  therion  was  stamped  the  brand 


26o  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

of  the  blasphemer;  but  no  writing  appears  upon  the  brow  of 
this  therion  of  the  earth  save  that  of  the  mystic  script  of  his 
two  horns.  They  simulate  those  of  the  Lamb,  and  thus  Hft 
to  view  the  mark  visual  of  the  Antichrist.  Anti,  in  Greek, 
as  is  well  known,  has  the  meaning  not  only  of  ''against,"  but 
"in  place  of.''  Thus  this  monster  is  not  only  disclosed  as 
against  Christ,  but  he  wears  the  sign  manual  that  proclaims 
assumed  possession  of  the  full  power  of  Christ,  or  rather  the 
dual  power  of  Christ,  natural  and  spiritual.  That  he  essays 
the  role  of  the  Lamb  in  the  exercise  of  those  powers  which 
belong  alone  to  him,  as  the  predestined  ruler  of  all  the  king- 
doms of  this  world  as  that  of  the  heavenly  world,  in  a  struc- 
tural sense  determines  the  point  that  the  period  he  dominates 
is  subsequent  to  that  which  manifests  Christ  himself.  This 
period  is  that  of  the  "time,  times,  and  a  half"  of  the  "little 
horn"  in  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  who  wields,  as  does  this 
therion,  both  the  temporal  and  spiritual  power. 

It  also  squares  with  the  "time,  times,  and  a  half"  of  the  sec- 
ond phase  of  the  Basilophany,  and  period  of  Satan's  loosing. 
These  two  theria  of  the  third  Woe  may  thus  be  understood  as 
conceptually  successional,  in  the  same  order  as  these  distinct 
phases  of  the  Basilophanic  section  are  successional.  The  char- 
acter of  the  first  is  political,  and  anti-God ;  while  that  of  the 
other  is  politico-spiritual,  and  anti-Christ.  As  this  second 
beast  takes  position  in  the  field  the  first  seems  to  have  reached 
a  passive  or  moribund  condition,  which  does  not  admit  of 
even  a  protest,  as  he  sees  the  fullness  of  his  "power,  and  great 
authority,"  and  even  his  "throne,"  passing  into  the  possession 
of  this  intruder  into  his  hitherto  absolute  domain.  His  docility 
is  explained  by  the  manifest  attitude  assumed  toward  him  by 
this  second  therion.  His  coming,  in  fact,  is  welcomed  by  this 
monster  of  the  sea  as  most  opportune.  His  presence  in  the 
arena  brings  the  promise  of  a  new  lease  of  life  to  the  deca- 
dent secular  power  by  bringing  to  its  support  that  finesse  of 
Satanic  cunning  that  has  been  rendered  possible  by  Satan's 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  261 

loosing  in  the  earth.  It  is  in  this  figure  of  the  Antichrist  that 
he  goes  forth  to  deceive  the  whole  world.  Externally  facing 
the  world  as  pseudo-lamb,  internally  devil-possessed,  he  sub- 
jects the  ruling  world-power  to  his  will  and  claims  to  wield 
the  thunderbolts  of  heaven.  And  thus,  as  backed  by  the  world- 
power,  he  projects  a  great  spiritual  imposture  which  deceives 
the  whole  earth,  terrifying  men  into  abject  submission  to  an 
enslaving  despotism  such  as  the  world  had  never  seen.  **And 
he  exerciseth  all  the  authority  of  the  first  beast  in  his  sight. 
And  he  maketh  the  earth  and  them  that  dwell  therein  to  wor- 
ship the  first  beast,  whose  death-stroke  was  healed."  It  is 
clearly  shown  here,  in  figure,  that  though  the  marine  therion 
remains  in  the  field,  the  conditions  that  previously  obtained 
with  respect  to  his  rule  have  entirely  changed  in  the  presence 
of  this  earth-born  adjuvant  that  now  appears  upon  the  scene. 
The  fact  that  allusion  is  here  made  to  the  healing  of  the  death- 
stroke  which  the  marine  monster  had  previously  received,  as 
in  the  presence  of  this  second  therion,  carries  with  it  the 
implication  that  it  was  through  his  political  surgery  that  the 
recovery  took  place. 

This  second  monster  is  not  only  a  skilled  world-ruler ;  he  is 
also  a  great  spiritual  power.  He  is  a  worker  of  startling  mira- 
cles and  a  great  sign-monger  in  the  sight  of  the  beast: 

"And  he  doeth  great  wonders,  so  that  he  maketh  fire  come 
down  from  heaven  on  the  earth  in  the  sight  of  men,  and  he 
deceiveth  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  by  means  of  those  mira- 
cles which  he  had  power  to  do  in  the  sight  of  the  beast ;  saying 
to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  that  they  should  make  an  image 
to  the  beast,  which  had  the  wound  by  a  sword,  and  did  live." 

Let  it  be  granted  that  this  first  beast  stands  for  the  secular 
world-power,  and  that  throughout  the  second  phase  of  its 
existence  it  has  been  thralled  and  used  by  a  devil-animated 
spiritual  imposture,  then  the  history  of  the  Christian  age  may 
be  left  to  say  whether  the  apocalyptist  has  presented  a  vision- 
ary romance  or  drawn  a  picture  that  is  true  to  life.     While 


2^2  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  limitations  of  this  discussion  will  not  admit  of  a  critical 
study  of  the  visions  of  Daniel  at  this  point,  yet  the  position 
taken  will  be  further  illuminated  by  referring  to  his  therionic 
imagery  again.  His  fourth  beast,  which  stamps  the  remnant 
of  Israel  under  its  feet,  is  the  universal  world-power.  The 
scholars  are  generally  agreed  that  it  stands  for  the  Roman 
empire.  Therefore  the  picture  that  is  here  drawn  in  this 
Apocalypse  can  be  given  no  other  historic  adjustment  than 
this  of  the  Gentile  world-power  under  the  dominance  of 
spiritual  imposture.  In  the  vision  of  Daniel,  as  the  teeth  and 
claws  grow  quiet,  its  regal  power  passes  to  its  horns.  Among 
the  ten  there  arises  a  ''little  horn"  having  the  eyes  of  a  man 
and  a  mouth  speaking  great  things.  As  it  rises,  three  of  the 
ten  horns  of  the  beast  fall  before  it.  The  usual  method  of 
dealing  with  this  circumstance  is  that  which  conceives  that 
these  horns  stand  for  literal  kingdoms,  instead  of  universal 
power,  and  that  three  kingdoms  or  states  fall  before  the  rise 
of  the  papal  power.  Notwithstanding  that  the  expositors  con- 
ceive that  this  point  is  well  supported  by  historic  fact,  yet  the 
author  must  be  allowed  to  dissent.  Such  a  recourse  to  liter- 
alism is  incompatible  with  the  lofty  character  of  the  apocalyp- 
tic symbolism,  and,  moreover,  becomes  an  embarrassment  in 
the  general  use  of  the  figure.  Were  there  seven  kingdoms 
signified  by  the  horns  upon  the  head  of  the  Lamb?  Are  there 
just  two  upon  the  head  of  this  terrene  beast?  Are  there  seven 
upon  the  head  of  Satan  himself?  The  thought  with  respect 
to  the  fall  of  these  three  horns  rather  suggests  the  change 
from  secular  to  spiritual  power.  The  fall  of  three  of  the 
universal  number  leaves  regnant  the  ranking  seven.  The  fact 
that  this  horn  in  reality  makes  an  eighth  will  find  characteristic 
recognition  in  the  retracing  of  these  lines  in  the  Trilogy.  The 
fact  that  this  ^'little  horn"  of  Daniel  becomes  supreme,  and 
speaks  great  things,  is  suf^cient  to  suggest  coincidence  with 
the  figure  before  us.  We  need  but  to  adduce  a  few  of  the 
"great  things"  that  have  been  uttered  by  "the  man  on  the 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  263 

Tiber"  to  show  how  marvelously  prophecy  has  forecast  the 
conditions  that  have  obtained  in  the  Christian  age  as  it  has 
been  thralled  by  the  "man  of  sin." 

The  blasphemous  assumptions  and  utterances  of  the  great 
world-rulers  of  this  therionic  succession,  from  Nebuchadnezzar 
on  down  to  the  Roman  emperors,  are  simply  recorded  history ; 
but  it  was  reserved  for  the  arrogant  rulers  that  seated  them- 
selves upon  the  papal  throne,  as  above  all  merely  secular  power, 
to  eclipse  them  all.  The  Pope  boldly  proclaims  himself  God's 
vicegerent  on  earth,  the  vicar  of  Christ,  with  absolute  power 
over  the  three  spheres  of  earth,  heaven,  and  hell.  The  deceived 
multitudes  prostrate  themselves  before  him  in  worship  and 
hail  him  as  ''our  Lord  God,  the  Pope."  The  celebrated  canon- 
ist, Prospero  Fagnani,  thus  describes  the  Pope  in  his  Com- 
mentaries on  the  Decretals.  He  was  the  oracle  of  the  court 
of  Rome,  and  may  thus  be  quoted  as  an  authority.  He  says: 
"He  may  make  laws  and  institutions  for  all  the  world.  He  has 
power  over  all  men,  even  infidels.  The  Pope  judges  all  men, 
and  can  be  himself  only  judged  by  God.  He  cannot  be  judged 
by  councils.  Nay,  were  the  whole  world  to  pronounce,  in 
any  particular,  against  the  Pope,  it  would  be  right  to  submit 
to  his  judgment  against  the  world.  .  .  .  Everything  he  does 
is  done  by  divine  authority.  .  .  .  The  Pope  is  not  subject  to 
the  decisions  of  his  predecessors,  not  even  to  those  of  the 
apostles;  for  there  can  be  no  limit  to  the  power  of  the  keys. 
He  may  dispense  zvith  the  observance  of  divine  lazvs  and  the 
gospel  precepts.  The  Pope  may  grant  every  species  of  dis- 
pensation, except  of  one  to  marry  one's  father  or  one's  mother. 
.  .  .  He  is  the  prince  of  the  bishops,  the  judge  of  all  men.  He 
can  create  a  law  where  there  was  none,"  etc.,  etc.  Innocent 
HI  said  in  his  coronation  sermon:  "Now  you  may  see  who  is 
the  servant  who  is  placed  over  the  family  of  the  Lord:  truly 
is  he  the  vicar  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  successor  of  Peter;  the 
Christ  of  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Pharaoh ;  placed  in  the  middle 
between  God  and  man,  on  this  side  of  God,  but  beyond  man ; 


264  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

less  than  God,  but  greater  than  man,  who  judges  all,  but  is 
judged  of  none."  Cardinal  Bellarmine,  one  of  the  most  cele- 
brated Catholic  theologians,  wrote:  "If  the  Pope  should  err 
by  enjoining  vices,  or  prohibiting  virtues,  the  church,  unless 
she  would  sin  against  conscience,  would  be  bound  to  believe 
vices  to  be  good  and  virtues  to  be  evil"  (Disputations).  Pope 
Urban  says:  "The  hands  of  the  pontiff  are  raised  to  an  emi- 
nence granted  to  none  of  the  angels,  of  creating  God,  the 
Creator  of  all  things,  and  of  offering  him  up  for  the  salvation 
of  the  whole  world."  .  To  show  how  completely  the  papacy 
superseded  the  secular  power  we  need  but  call  attention  to 
the  history  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  to  the  vaunting  claims 
that  are  still  put  forth  by  the  champions  of  Rome  in  the  face 
of  the  whole  world.  Cardinal  Manning,  in  one  of  his  lectures, 
puts  these  words  upon  the  lips  of  the  Pope:  "I  acknowledge 
no  civil  power;  I  am  subject  to  no  prince.  I  am  more  than 
this.  I  claim  to  be  the  supreme  judge  and  director  of  the  con- 
science of  men:  of  the  peasant  who  tills  his  field,  and  the 
prince  who  sits  upon  the  throne ;  of  the  household  that  lives  in 
the  shade  of  privacy,  and  of  the  legislator  that  makes  law  for 
the  kingdom.  I  am  the  sole,  last,  supreme  judge  of  what  is 
right  or  wrong."  It  is  not  necessary  to  burden  our  pages,  as 
could  be  done  ad  inHnitiim,  with  quotations  such  as  these. 
Their  authenticity  cannot  be  questioned,  and  therefore  they 
are  sufficient  for  rendering  judgment  with  respect  to  the  per- 
fect reflex  of  this  thralling  beast  that  is  presented  by  the  papal 
throne.  But  he  not  only  thralls  the  great  world-power;  his 
sway  extends  to  the  skies.  "He  doeth  great  wonders,  so  that 
he  maketh  fire  come  down  from  heaven  on  the  earth  in  the 
sight  of  men."  The  coincidence  presented  here  by  Rome  is 
most  striking,  in  the  face  of  her  fulminations  of  excommu- 
nication. Lightnings  and  thunderbolts  are  the  terms  generally 
employed  by  Romish  writers  themselves  in  characterizing  the 
papal  method  of  transfixing  the  heretic.  Gregory  VII  pro- 
nounced Henry  IV  to  be  struck  with  lightning.     He  stripped 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  265 

him  of  all  his  power  and  compelled  him  to  stand,  naked,  as  a 
humble  suppliant  for  three  days  at  the  gates  of  his  palace  be- 
fore permitting  him  to  stand  in  the  personal  blaze  of  his  wrath. 

Says  Ducagne,  *'To  fulminate  an  excommunication  is  the 
established  phrase  of  the  present  day."  Pius  IX  said,  **I 
cannot,  like  Peter,  launch  certain  thunders  which  reduce  bodies 
to  ashes,  but  I  can,  nevertheless,  launch  the  thunders  which 
reduce  souls  to  ashes."  To  a  Belgian  delegation  which  offered 
him  a  tiara  he  said,  ''You  offer  me  a  tiara — a  symbol  of  my 
threefold  royal  dignity,  in  heaven,  upon  earth,  and  in  purga- 
tory." He  denounced  the  Old  Catholics,  saying,  "They  refuse 
to  recognize  the  divine  prerogatives  of  the  vicar  of  Jesus 
Christ  on  earth,  and  to  obey  his  supreme  jurisdiction."  To 
another  set  of  visitors  he  said,  "The  voice  that  now  sounds 
in  your  ears  is  the  voice  of  Him  whom  I  represent  on  the 
earth."  All  the  power  which  the  Pope  once  possessed,  of  de- 
posing monarchs  and  disposing  of  kingdoms,  arose  from  the 
fact  that  the  popular  mind,  under  the  influence  of  the  clergy, 
firmly  supported  him  as  above  the  emperor  or  king,  and  as 
being  the  representative  of  God  on  earth  and  entitled  to  be 
called  God.  Thus  this  thralling  power  caused  the  image  of 
the  old  Roman  secular  power  to  live  and  to  speak  in  the 
papacy,  and  to  punish  with  death  those  who  dissented  from 
its  dogmas  or  refused  to  prostrate  themselves  in  the  dust 
before  it. 

A  multitude  of  Romish  writers  might  be  cited  as  ascribing 
the  attributes  of  God  to  the  Pope,  and  of  according  to  him 
that  worship  which  is  due  to  God  alone.  One  says,  "It  is 
certain  that  the  Pope  was  styled  God  by  Constantine,  and  it  is 
manifest  that  God  cannot  be  judged  by  men." 

Under  Pope  Symmachus,  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury, it  was  declared  that  the  Pope  was  judge  in  place  of  God, 
and  could  himself  be  judged  by  none,  as  he  was  above  all 
human  jurisdiction.  At  the  fifth  Lateran  Council  the  orator 
announced  in  the  presence  of  the  Pope,  "Thou  art  finally  a 


266  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

second  God  on  earth,"  and,  far  from  displeasing  the  Pope,  the 
sentiment  was  acceptable  and  well-pleasing  to  papal  ears. 

With  respect  to  the  idolatrous  woman  worship  universally 
prevalent  in  papal  Rome  it  is  too  notorious  to  call  for  polemic 
discussion.  The  late  and  universally  lamented  Leo  in  his  dying 
hours  confessed  himself  a  devout  worshiper  of  Mary.  We 
need  but  consult  the  infallible  utterances  of  the  papacy  in  order 
to  understand  how  necessary  this  was  to  his  ultimate  salva- 
tion, deliverance  from  purgatory,  and  admittance  into  heaven. 
Gregory  XVI  says,  ''Mary  is  the  only  hope  of  sinners."  On 
December  8,  1854,  Pius  IX  was  seated  upon  his  throne  in 
Saint  Peter's  in  Rome.  The  triple  crown  of  gold  and  diamonds 
was  on  his  head.  He  was  clothed  in  silk  and  damask,  with 
red  and  white  vestments  upon  his  shoulders,  while  five  hun- 
dred mitered  prelates  surrounded  him  and  more  than  fifty  thou- 
sand people  were  at  his  feet.  It  was  the  great  day  in  which 
the  dogma  of  the  immaculate  conception  of  Mary  the  mother 
of  God  was  to  be  proclaimed  to  the  world.  I  condense  from 
Father  Chiniquy: 

"After  a  period  of  solemn  silence  a  cardinal  dressed  in  his 
purple  robe  left  his  seat  and  gravely  walked  toward  the  Pope, 
kneeled  before  him,  and  then  humbly  prostrating  himself 
said,  'Holy  Father,  tell  us  if  we  can  believe  and  teach  that 
the  Mother  of  God,  the  Floly  Virgin  Mary,  was  immaculate 
in  her  conception.'  The  supreme  pontiff  answered,  T  do  not 
know;  let  us  ask  the  light  of  the  Holy  Ghost.'  The  cardinal 
withdrew;  the  Pope  and  the  numberless  multitude  fell  upon 
their  knees,  and  the  choir  sang  Veni  Creator  Spiritus.  Again 
the  cardinal  prostrated  himself  and  repeated  his  question,  and 
again  the  Pope  responded,  T  do  not  know,'  and  again  the 
Veni  Creator  was  sung.  For  the  third  time  the  cardinal  ad- 
vanced to  the  throne,  and  said,  'Holy  Father,  tell  us  if  we  can 
believe  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  Mother  of  God,  was 
immaculate.'  And  the  Pope,  as  if  he  had  just  received  a 
communication  from  God,  answered  with  solemn  voice,  'Yes; 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  267 

we  must  believe  that  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  Mother  of 
God,  was  immaculate  in  her  conception.  .  .  .  There  is  no 
salvation  to  those  who  do  not  believe  this  dogma.'  And  then 
with  loud  voice  the  Pope  intoned  the  Te  Deum,  the  bells  in 
three  hundred  churches  in  Rome  rang,  the  cannon  of  the  citadel 
were  fired — and  Rome  had  promulgated  the  antiscriptural  doc- 
trine that  there  is  one  daughter  of  Eve  who  has  not  inherited 
the  sinful  nature  of  Adam." 

''And  he  deceiveth  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  by  the  means 
of  those  miracles,  which  he  had  power  to  do  in  the  sight  of  the 
beast."  If  we  seek  for  these  ''signs,"  "great  wonders,"  and 
"miracles,"  we  shall  find  them  a-plenty  everywhere  that  Rome 
has  established  her  idolatrous  worship.  The  Bollandist  Vol- 
umes, more  than  sixty  in  number,  and  stamped  with  the  Pope's 
approval,  are  full  of  transcendent  marvels,  which  are  put  forth 
as  the  proof  of  the  divinity  that  resides  in  the  church.  For 
instance,  the  decapitated  head  of  Saint  Beatrix,  taken  from 
the  well  where  it  had  been  thrown,  lived  for  three  days,  con- 
fessing, and  receiving  absolution.  Or  the  beautiful  (  !)  story 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  sacrificing  her  virginity  to  shield  a  wife 
who  had  fled  from  her  husband's  home  with  her  paramour.  The 
Virgin  kindly  takes  the  place  vacated  in  the  home,  remaining 
there  a  full  month,  till  the  wife,  repentant,  returned  and, 
astounded  at  the  good  offices  of  the  Virgin,  thankfully  resumed 
her  wifely  duties,  the  husband  never  discovering  the  double 
fraud  that  had  been  practiced  upon  him.  While  "great  signs," 
legitimately  such,  may  be  received  as  the  marks  of  the  true 
church,  yet  it  is  established  here  beyond  the  possibility  of  ques- 
tion that  ''lying  wonders"  have  been  lifted  to  view  in  this 
mystic  characterization  as  the  distinguishing  marks  of  impos- 
ture and  fraud.  Rome  is  the  only  great  universal  Christian 
power  that  has  thus  promulgated  her  teachings  throughout  the 
earth.  And  thus  we  are  compelled  to  recognize  her  as  the 
agency  held  before  us,  for  we  will  vainly  seek  for  any  other 
factor  that  squares  with  the  symbolism.    Witness  the  wonders 


268  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

even  now  being  wrought  by  the  sacred  bone  from  the  forearm 
of  Saint  Ann,  the  wonderful  waters  of  the  spring  of  Lourdes, 
the  Bambino,  the  nails  and  wood  of  the  true  cross,  the  hand- 
kerchief of  Saint  Veronica,  etc.,  etc.  ''Strong  delusion"  indeed 
is  that  which  makes  these  things  possible  in  Rome  in  the  glare 
of  the  twentieth  century.  One  other  phase  of  these  groupings 
is  deserving  of  more  than  passing  notice,  as  it  presents  a  most 
striking  verification  of  the  fact,  here  mystically  characterized, 
with  respect  to  the  relations  that  exist  between  the  spiritual 
and  the  secular  power  of  Rome.  It  is  this  second  beast,  born 
of  the  earth,  who  induces  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth  to  make 
an  image  of  the  beast  that  had  the  sword-stroke.  The  old 
pagan  Csesarism  is  thus  recognized  as  revived  in  the  new  papal 
Csesarism,  The  old  paganism  is  thus  mystically  transformed ; 
as  expressed  in  the  Trilogy  it  is  "the  beast  that  was,  is  not,  and 
yet  is."  Rome  thus  enforces  divine  homage  to  the  secular 
power  in  this  striking  likeness  she  has  reproduced,  into  which 
she  has  breathed  life  and  made  to  speak.  She  does  so  because 
she  herself  wields  the  fullness  of  the  power  of  the  old  Csesarism 
— Christianized   (  ?) . 

"And  he  had  power  to  give  life  unto  the  image  of  the  beast, 
that  the  image  of  the  beast  should  both  speak,  and  cause  that 
as  many  as  would  not  worship  the  image  of  the  beast  should 
be  killed."  The  makeshift  by  which  papal  Rome  attempts  to 
parry  the  force  of  the  charge  of  inhuman  cruelty  in  her  perse- 
cutions of  dissentients  is  here  transfixed.  This  Christianized 
secular  power  is  the  accredited  executioner  of  the  bloody  de- 
crees of  Antichrist.  The  stain  is  too  deep  for  such  Jesuitical 
sponging  ever  to  efface  it.  The  blood  of  at  least  fifty  millions 
of  martyrs  stains  the  hands  and  crimsons  the  robes  of  the 
hierarchy  of  Rome.  They  may  deny  it,  but  let  Bohemia  tell 
her  story;  let  the  hills  and  valleys  of  Piedmont  and  the  Alps 
become  vocal ;  let  the  gory  shade  of  Saint  Bartholomew  arise ; 
let  the  awful  secrets  of  the  Holy  Roman  Inquisition  be  laid 
bare,  and  the  horrors  of  dungeon,  convent,  and  castle  be  dis- 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  269 

closed,  and  the  picture  that  will  be  thus  presented  of  the  bloody 
career  of  this  beast  will  be  such  as  to  easily  show  that  it  has  no 
parallel  upon  the  earth. 

We  have  only  to  listen  to  the  fiery  fulminations  of  Rome 
against  evangelical  truth ;  see  the  arrogant  priest  tearing  the 
Word  of  God  from  the  hands  of  those  who  have  braved  his 
fury  to  read  it,  and  committing  it  to  the  flames ;  we  have  only 
to  listen  to  the  dragonic  roar  that  follows  when  some  festering 
spot  is  uncovered  upon  his  pustulent  carcass,  to  fully  satisfy 
every  condition  in  the  case  that  is  needed  to  identify  this  anti- 
christian  monster  of  the  Apocalypse. 

Rome,  when  charged  with  this  awful  holocaust  of  Christian 
blood,  attempts  to  defend  herself  by  saying  that  it  is  not 
the  spiritual  power  that  has  shed  it,  but  the  temporal  magis- 
tracy, thus  in  a  breath  confessing  judgment  to  the  indictment 
as  drawn  from  the  symbolism  of  this  book. 

In  the  two  final  paragraphs  of  this  section  we  meet  with  one 
of  the  most  perplexing  problems  of  the  Apocalypse — the  mark 
of  the  beast,  and  the  number  of  his  name.  This  mark  is  caused 
to  be  given  to  humanity,  as  classed  under  a  grouping  of  seven 
— "He  causeth  all,  the  small  and  the  great,  the  rich  and  the 
poor,  and  the  free  and  the  bond,  that  there  be  given  them  a 
mark  on  their  right  hand,  or  upon  their  forehead ;  that  no  man 
might  buy  or  sell,  save  he  that  hath  the  mark,  even  the  name 
of  the  beast,  or  the  number  of  his  name"  (6.  15). 

The  metaphor  is  suggestive  of  a  chief  walking  delegate 
of  a  universal  trades-union;  but  as  portrayed  here  the  mark 
which  he  places  upon  the  brow  of  those  whom  he  deceives  is 
to  be  viewed  as  antithetic  to  the  seal  which  was  placed  in  the 
foreheads  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  which  will  rise  to  view 
again  at  the  head  of  the  Contrastive  Counterpart  now  at  the 
threshold.  With  respect  to  this  perplexing  number  the  writer 
confesses  that  he  has  nothing  new  or  startling  to  offer,  at  least 
at  this  point ;  later  a  suggestion  may  possibly  be  offered  in  con- 
nection with  the  retracing  of  these  lines  in  the  Trilogy.     The 


270  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

most  ancient  interpretation  is  that  which  is  said  to  have  de 
scended  from  Irenasus,  the  grand-pupil  of  John,  in  the  word 
Lateinos,  the  letters  of  which  meet  the  conditions.  This  word, 
whether  it  have  apostolic  origin  or  not,  shows  at  least  how  early 
this  beast  was  associated  with  the  Latin  power.  Others,  again, 
have  conceived  that  the  Greek  monogram  %^f,  in  which  this 
number  is  expressed,  presents  the  solution  without  any  count- 
ing. Its  initial  %  ^^^  ^n^X  f  are  the  letters  that  are  universally 
employed  in  early  literature  as  the  abbreviation  of  the  name 
of  Christ.  Now  let  the  serpentine  ^  insinuate  itself  in  the 
center,  and  the  monogrammic  trinity  thus  formed  presents  a 
most  striking  visuality  of  Antichrist,  as  of  the  dragon  wearing 
the  externals  of  Christ.  Again,  if  we  place  this  monogram 
over  against  the  three  epiphanies  of  the  Holy  Trinity  we  will 
have  the  suggestion  of  a  dragonic  usurpation  of  the  central 
place  of  power,  belonging  to  the  Eternal,  while  concealing 
himself  within  the  symbolic  visuality  that  may  represent  Christ 
on  the  one  side  and  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  other.  It  is  given  as 
an  indisputable  fact  by  eminent  commentators  that  at  one  time 
the  words  "VICARIVS  FILII  DEI"— Vicar  of  the  Son  of 
God — were  carved  in  the  faqade  of  the  Vatican,  and  that  they 
were  hastily  chiseled  out  when  it  was  discovered  that  the  letters 
within  this  assumed  title  that  have  numeric  value  footed  up 
exactly  666 ;  a  fact  which  anyone  may  easily  prove  for  himself 
who  will  take  the  pains  to  add  them  together  (DCLVVIIIIII). 
The  coincidence  is  certainly  striking. 

But,  whatever  may  be  the  real  solution  of  this  enigma,  there 
can  be  hardly  any  doubt  of  the  fact  that  in  these  three  malign 
figures  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  we  have  the  pres- 
entation of  an  antitrinity  which,  in  its  mysterious  union  of 
interests,  and  even  mysterious  blending  of  personality,  suggests 
the  attempt  on  the  part  of  Satan  to  produce  a  counterfeit  of 
the  Holy  Trinity. 

This  Satanic  attempt  at  parody  with  respect  to  the  Divine 
Nature  has  been  previously  noted  in  the  Introductory  Outline 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  271 

of  this  work.  It  may  profitably  be  recalled  at  this  point. 
Satan,  in  the  form  of  a  dragon,  is  the  great  central  and  all- 
potent  figure  around  whose  personality  the  adverse  imagery 
of  the  great  drama  gathers.  In  the  Theophany  the  Throned 
Eternal  is  supported  by  two  associate  figures — the  seven 
Spirits  and  the  Lamb.  These  are  the  active  agencies  under 
whose  hands  the  redemptive  scheme  develops  and  the  kingdom 
of  God  finally  triumphs  in  the  earth.  They  are  repeatedly 
introduced  in  the  passing  of  the  different  phases  of  the  sym- 
bolism, both  as  standing  separate  and  as  mysteriously  blended 
in  action.  All  these  phases  have  been  sufficiently  dwelt  upon. 
It  is  one  of  the  evidences  of  the  profundity  of  the  Apocalypse 
that  the  -reflex  of  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  should 
project  itself  so  plainly  in  the  adverse  metaphor  before  us 
relative  to  the  great  Antagonist  and  the  opposing  forces  de- 
veloped under  his  hand.  In  the  figures  associate  with  these 
three  woes  there  is  a  Satanic  counterfeit  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 
The  first  adjuvant  which  Satan  sends  into  the  field  is  a  striking 
rescript  of  himself,  and  is  endowed  by  him  with  power,  throne, 
and  great  authority.  The  second  has  the  two  horns  of  the 
Lamb,  but  his  voice  is  dragonic.  These  two  horns,  added  to 
the  ten  of  his  principal,  give  the  same  number  of  horns  upon 
their  united  heads  as  there  are  stars  upon  the  antithetic  figure 
of  the  woman.  The  work  of  Christ  and  the  development  of 
his  divine  kingdom  proceed  as  directly  under  the  active  pres- 
ence of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus  with  respect  to  the  Satanic 
rule  of  the  kingdom  of  the  world  this  second  beast  becomes 
its  all-potent  developer.  The  parody  is  most  striking;  once  it 
is  clearly  apprehended.  As  the  mystic  veil  here  lets  through 
these  flashes  of  light  we  can  but  be  amazed  at  the  ''depths 
of  Satan"  which  they  disclose,  as  we  are  convinced  of  the 
need  of  "wisdom"  to  count  the  number  of  the  name  of  this 
finality  of  the  Satanic  trinity. 


272  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Contrastive  Counterpart  of  the  Third  Woe 

Mount  Sion — The  Lamb — Sealed  Israel 
In  passing  again  to  the  obverse  side  of  the  panorama  it 
is  necessary  that  the  reader  carefully  retrace  the  lines  of  the 
two  contrastive  sections  presented  by  the  book  of  the  Theoph- 
any,  in  order  to  a  more  thorough  comprehension  of  their 
correlative  office  and  characterization.  The  line  of  continuity 
running  through  them,  from  first  to  last,  has  been  demon- 
strated. The  facts  established  should  be  held  in  mind,  for  it  is 
in  the  reflective  light  of  these  sections,  which  present  the 
bright  side  of  the  panorama,  that  some  of  the  deeper  shadows 
of  the  dark  side  are  illumined.  For  instance,  the  firstXounter- 
part — of  the  seals — has  two  sections,  the  first  of  which  relates 
to  the  sealing  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  while  the  second 
relates  to  the  great  white-robed  throng  which  came  up  through 
the  great  tribulation.  This  throng  was  also  proved  to  be 
Israel.  The  scope  of  this  Counterpart  was  also  shown  to  be 
universal,  carrying  us  up  to  the  end  of  the  drama.  The  lines 
that  are  thus  established  must  be  conceived  as  including,  in 
a  generic  sense,  the  factors  which  will  be  dealt  with  in  the 
detail  of  the  Counterparts  to  follow.  The  second  also,  in  the 
book  of  the  Theophany,  presents  the  Spirit  of  truth,  and  his 
divinely  inspired  word,  as  antithetic  to  the  spirit  of  falsehood 
and  the  uncouth  duality  he  arrays  in  antagonism.  But,  as 
has  been  shown,  Israel  is  occultly  here  on  both  sides  of  the 
panorama.  We  have  seen  how  the  divine  kingdom  and  its 
crown  of  twelve  stars  were  introduced  as  the  leading  figure 
on  the  adverse  side  of  this  book  of  the  Pneumatophany ;  here, 
as  the  panorama  discloses  the  scene  that  develops  on  the 
obverse  side,  which  holds  to  view  the  figures  and  forces  that 
are  contrastive  with  those  of  the  woe,  we  have  in  their  meta- 
morphoses a  perfect  identification  of  their  mystic  significance. 
They  are  Mount  Sion,  the  Lamb,  and  the  previously  sealed 
Israel.     The   structural   law   of  the  book  thus  gives  us   the 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  273 

identification  of  the  sun-robed  woman  in  a  way  that  is  sur- 
prisingly satisfactory.  The  man  child  now  is  manifest  in  his 
maturity  as  the  Lamb  through  whose  blood  the  dragon  was 
overcome.  The  brow  of  the  woman  again  has  her  crown  of 
twelve  stars — the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  triumphant  over  the 
infernal  trinity,  with  the  seal  of  God  in  their  foreheads.  In 
the  next  and  final  Counterpart  Mount  Sion  transforms  into 
a  glorious  city,  while  her  stars  are  emblazoned  upon  her  gates. 
The  lines  of  coincidence  and  continuity  thus  established  should 
be  sufficient  to  determine  the  fact  that  Israel  cannot  be  elim- 
inated from  any  part  of  this  progressive  symbolism.  The 
solidarity  of  symbol  here  with  respect  to  this  numeric  host 
speaks  with  a  force  that  simply  silences  all  dissent.  They 
are  Israel,  but  the  prophetic  Israel,  standing  on  Mount  Sion 
in  the  glory  of  the  Messianic  day.  If  it  is  a  Hebrew  mountain 
it  stands  within  the  lines  of  the  Christian  age ;  for  upon  it  also 
is  disclosed  the  Lamb  as  he  stood  before  the  throne  in  the 
redemptorial  scene.  He  has  been  presented  as  the  great  De- 
liverer of  Israel  and  the  Shepherd  of  the  lost  sheep;  and  the 
Israel,  sealed  of  God,  follow  him  whithersoever  he  goeth. 
Their  tribal  distinctions  are  all  strangely  lost  to  sight.  This 
is  characteristic  of  the  conditions  which  the  prophets  plainly 
foresaw  would  result  as  they  were  gathered  out  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth  unto  the  standard  of  the  Lamb.  But  their  divine 
seal  remains,  and  the  mystic  aggregate  that  passed  under  the 
hand  of  the  Eternal  Spirit  while  the  angels  held  the  winds,  and 
the  great  mystery  with  respect  to  them  not  yet  to  be  disclosed. 
We  have  noted  how  the  scope  of  the  seals  carried  us  for- 
ward, on  the  dark  side  of  the  panorama,  to  the  great  climac- 
teric day  when  the  material  realm  would  dissolve  and  vanish 
away  while  sinful  men  would  be  vainly  calling  for  the  moun- 
tains and  rocks  to  hide  them  from  the  awful  Presence  now 
disclosed  upon  the  eternal  throne.  The  Scriptures  know  but 
one  such  day — the  dies  irce  of  the  end.  We  have  seen  how 
the  seal  Counterpart  touches  the  same  terminal  point.     The 


274  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Israel  of  God  are  gathered  out  of  the  nations,  while  the  mys- 
tery of  their  identity  rises  to  view  in  the  question,  "Who  are 
these  that  are  arrayed  in  white  robes,  and  whence  came  they  ?" 
The  great  tribulation  lies  in  the  past;  their  battles  are  over, 
their  victory  gained,  and  all  tears  forever  wiped  away.  We 
have  seen  how  the  seventh  seal  is  amplified  in  the  trumpets, 
and  the  seventh  trumpet  again  in  the  book  of  the  Pneuma- 
tophany.  We  have  noted  the  fact  that  it  has  its  governing 
exponents,  its  prefatory  section,  and  then  its  dual  sections  of 
the  Woe,  and  its  conclusion  in  the  counterpart  now  before  us. 
In  this  connection  the  one  structural  point  of  divergence  must 
be  especially  emphasized.  This  Contrastive  Counterpart  is  not 
parenthetic,  but  terminal  There  is  no  seventh  paragraph  to 
be  expanded,  but  the  symbolism  now  recurs  to  the  headlands 
of  the  whole  trumpet  series  and,  under  lines  which  will  be 
seen  to  square  perfectly  with  these  of  the  book  of  the  Pneu- 
matophany,  courses  through  the  series  of  retribution.  As 
we  shall  see,  the  bright  side  of  this  book  carries  us  forward 
to  the  same  point  terminal  in  the  seals,  and  then  halts.  But 
there  are  no  more  books  to  open  save  those  which  will  appear 
in  the  final  scene  of  the  judgment.  The  Trilogy  will  present 
the  amplified  utterance  of  the  mystic  vials  of  the  wrath  of  God. 
Holding  these  features  in  mind,  we  will  advance  to  the  group- 
ings of  the  Counterpart. 

The  Paragraphic  Grouping  of  the  Counterpart 
These  paragraphs,  as  presenting  the  contrastive  features 
that  complete  the  characterization  of  the  third  Woe,  are  of  the 
greatest  exegetical  value.  The  introductory  paragraph,  which 
presents  the  leading  characteristic  figures  of  the  bright  side, 
divides  into  three  series  of  sub-sevens.  The  method  that  is 
dominant  in  other  sections  of  the  panorama  fairly  determines 
that  these  figures  are  to  be  viewed  as  apart  from  the  con- 
nected groupings  which  follow.  They  are  lifted  to  view  as 
the  metamorphosed  factors  that  have  already  been  introduced 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  275 

on  the  dark  side  of  the  series.    These  sub-sevens  take  position 
as  follows: 

First  Section  of  the  Counterpart — Its  Forces 
(i)  "And  I  looked,  and,  lo,  (i)  a  Lamb  stood  (2)  on  Mount 
Sion,  (3)  and  with  him  an  hundred  and  forty  and  four  thou- 
sand, having  his  Father's  name  written  in  their  foreheads. 
And  I  heard  (4)  a  voice  from  heaven,  (5)  as  the  voice  of 
many  waters,  (6)  and  as  the  voice  of  great  thunder;  (7)  and 
I  heard  the  voice  of  harpers  harping  with  their  harps." 

(2)  ''(i)  And  they  sung  as  it  were  a  new  song  (2)  before 
the  throne,  (3)  and  before  the  four  beasts,  (4)  and  the  elders. 
(5)  And  no  man  could  learn  that  song  (6)  save  the  hundred 
and  forty  and  four  thousand,  (7)  which  were  redeemed  from 
the  earth." 

(3)  "(i)  These  are  they  which  were  not  defiled  with  women ; 
(2)  for  they  are  virgins.  (3)  These  are  they  which  follow 
the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth.  (4)  These  were  redeemed 
from  among  men,  (5)  being  the  firstfruits  unto  God  and  to 
the  Lamb.  (6)  And  in  their  mouth  was  found  no  guile: 
(7)  for  they  are  witjiout  fault  before  the  throne  of  God." 

This  characterization  fully  identifies  the  woman,  her  stars, 
and  her  sceptered  child. 

Mount  Zion  is  the  regal  mountain  of  Old  Testament  proph- 
ecy. In  the  second  psalm,  which  is  universally  admitted  to 
be  Messianic,  we  have  a  picture  of  the  Divine  Son  upon  this 
holy  hill  of  Zion,  with  the  kings  of  the  earth  arrayed  against 
him,  whom  he  breaks  with  a  rod  of  iron  (2.  26,  27;  12.  5; 
19.  15),  and  dashes  to  pieces,  taking  the  nations  for  his  inherit- 
ance and  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth  for  his  possession. 
The  frequent  use  of  this  maternal  figure  of  Zion  by  the 
prophets  has  been  previously  noted.  Isaiah  says  that  the  Re- 
deemer shall  come  to  Zion.  She  is  exhorted  to  awake,  and 
put  on  her  beautiful  garments.  The  ransomed  of  the  Lord 
shall  return,  and  come  to  Zion  with  songs,  and  everlasting  joy 


276  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

upon  their  heads,  and  shall  obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and 
sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away.  In  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  we  find  Zion  characterized  as  the  central  point  of 
interest  in  the  New  Dispensation:  *'Ye  are  not  come  to  the 
mount  that  might  be  touched,  .  .  .  but  ye  are  come  unto 
Mount  Sion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to  the 
general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first  born,  which  are  writ- 
ten in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits 
of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus  the  mediator  of  the 
new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of  sprinkling,  that  speaketh 
better  things  than  that  of  Abel"  (Heb.  12.  22-24).  Quota- 
tions such  as  these  might  be  greatly  extended.  They  clearly 
show  the  scriptural  significance  of  this  metamorphosed  symbol 
of  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  "new  song,"  in  the  redemptorial 
scene  as  on  the  lips  of  the  elders,  the  governing  figure  of 
the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  related  to  their  kingdom.  It 
is  thus  not  out  of  place  in  this  scene,  that  is  anticipative  of 
the  royal  progress  and  final  victory  of  the  Lamb.  The  signifi- 
cance of  the  triads  of  these  two  sections  will  appear  in  the 
antithetic  quadrates  of  the  Trilogy. 

The  reader  will  not  fail  to  note  the  implied  antithesis  be- 
tween the  "mark"  upon  the  foreheads  of  the  slaves  of  the 
beast  and  the  "seal"  upon  the  foreheads  of  the  followers  of 
the  Lamb.  The  "mark"  was  first  given  to  Cain,  in  his  fore- 
head, perhaps,  as  the  original  "scarlet  letter"  of  sin.  The 
seal  is  that  of  the  living  God,  and  impresses  his  name.  Under 
the  mark  there  is  commercialism,  greed,  the  interdict,  and  the 
boycott.  Under  the  seal  there  is  a  song  that  harmonizes  with 
the  music  of  celestial  harps.  The  exalted  character  of  this 
sealed  host  is  indicated  in  the  seven  statements  made  con- 
cerning them.  It  is  simply  another  phase  of  white  Christian- 
ity. Having  placed  these  figures  in  the  foreground  of  the 
panorama,  the  active  agencies  take  the  field  against  the  black 
legions  of  the  Woe.    The  struggle  begins  not  with  sword  and 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  277 

spear,  but  with  the  proclamation  of  the  everlasting  gospel, 
and  ends  with  a  stream  of  gore  that  rises  to  the  bridles  of 
the  horses  which  charge  upon  this  terrific  field. 

The  Second  Section — The  Triad  of  Counter  Activity 
(i)   "(i)  And  I  saw  another  angel  flying  in  mid  heaven, 

(2)  having  an  eternal  gospel  (3)  to  proclaim  unto  them  that 
dwell  on  the  earth,  and  unto  every  (4)  nation,  and  (5)  tribe, 
and  (6)  tongue,  and  (7)  people,  saying  with  a  loud  voice, 
(i)  Fear  God,  (2)  and  give  glory  unto  him,  (3)  for  the 
hour  of  his  judgment  is  come:  (4)  and  worship  him  that  made 
heaven,  (5)  and  earth,  (6)  and  the  sea,  (7)  and  the  fountains 
of  waters." 

(2)  "And  there  followed  another  angel,  saying,  (i)  Baby- 
lon is  fallen,  (2)  is  fallen,  (3)  that  great  city,  (4)  because 
she  made  all  nations  to  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  her 
fornication." 

(3)  *'And  the  third  angel  followed  them,  saying  with  a  loud 
voice,  (i)  If  any  man  worship  the  beast  (2)  and  his  image, 

(3)  and  receive  his  mark  in  his  forehead,  (4)  or  in  his  hand, 

(5)  the  same  shall  drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God 

(6)  which  is  poured  out  without  mixture  into  the  cup  of 
his  indignation;  (7)  and  he  shall  be  tormented  with  fire 
and  brimstone  in  the  presence  of  the  holy  angels,  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  Lamb.  And  the  smoke  of  their  torment  as- 
cendeth  up  forever  and  ever.  They  have  no  rest  day  nor 
night,  who  worship  the  beast  and  his  image,  and  whosoever 
receiveth  the  mark  of  his  name." 

The  Structural  Marking  of  Division 
"(i)  Here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints:  (2)  here  are  they 
that  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  (3)  and  have  the  faith 
of  Jesus"  (see  12.  17;  13.  9,  10 — the  remnant). 


278  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Third  Section — The  Triad  of  Finalities 
(i)   ''And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto  me, 
Write,  (i)  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from 
henceforth:  (2)  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from 
their  labors,  (3)  and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

(2)  The  harvest  scene  of  world  reaping:  ''And  I  looked,  and 
behold  a  white  cloud,  and  upon  the  cloud  one  sat  like  unto  the 
Son  of  man,  having  on  his  head  a  golden  crown,  and  in  his 
hand  a  sharp  sickle. 

"And  another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple,  crying  with  a 
loud  voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the  cloud.  Thrust  in  thy  sickle, 
and  reap;  for  the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe.  And  he  that 
sat  on  the  cloud  thrust  in  his  sickle  on  the  earth ;  and  the  earth 
was  reaped." 

(3)  The  scene  of  the  great  world  vintage:  "And  another- 
angel  came  out  of  the  temple  which  is  in  heaven,  he  also  having 
a  sharp  sickle.  And  another  angel  came  out  from  the  altar, 
which  had  power  over  fire;  and  cried  with  a  loud  cry  to  him 
that  had  the  sharp  sickle,  saying.  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle, 
and  gather  the  clusters  of  the  vine  of  the  earth ;  for  her  grapes 
are  fully  ripe.  And  the  angel  thrust  in  his  sickle  into  the  earth, 
and  gathered  the  vine  of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  great 
wine  press  of  the  wrath  of  God.  And  the  wine  press  was 
trodden  without  the  city,  and  blood  came  out  of  the  wine  press, 
even  unto  the  horses'  bridles,  by  the  space  of  a  thousand  and 
six  hundred  furlongs." 

The  groupings  of  this  Counterpart  are  thus  shown  to  obey 
the  same  structural  law  that  controls  the  development  of  the 
two  like  sections  of  the  seals  and  trumpets,  and  which  will  in 
the  same  manner  govern  the  climacteric  Counterpart  of  the 
Trilogy.  At  first  glance  these  clearly  delineated  paragraphs 
seem  to  break  into  a  grouping  of  sevens,  but  no  satisfactory 
division  can  be  made  on  this  basis.  The  anomaly  of  the  six 
angels  is  sufficient  to  determine  that  we  have  not  their  con- 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  279 

secutive  action  in  the  development  of  a  series,  but  the  trine 
groupings  of  dual  sections  that  are  harmonious  with  the  struc- 
tural law  which  governs  the  enunciation  of  these  contrastive 
sections.  As  thus  deployed  they  immediately  reflect  the  antith- 
eses of  the  trine  woe  sections  preceding,  and  further  lift  the 
curtain  upon  the  awful  day  of  the  divine  wrath  whose  details 
will  pass  upon  the  screen  in  the  coming  retributive  series. 
Every  utterance  of  these  triads  of  the  Pneumatophany  is  pre- 
paring us  for  the  sections  of  the  Trilogy  which  will  be  so 
clearly  shown  to  reflect  the  outline  here  given  as  to  place 
beyond  the  pale  of  controversy  the  great  fact  of  the  triunity 
of  the  three  great  battle  scenes  of  the  day  of  the  wrath  of  Gk)d. 

The  Angel  with  the  Eternal  Gospel 
The  flight  of  this  angelic  evangel  presents  the  time  of  the 
sowing,  as  the  second,  or  rather  third,  section  will  that  of  the 
reaping.  The  characteristic  thought  lifted  to  view  in  both 
cases  determines  the  scope  that  is  traversed.  We  are  not  to 
conceive  of  three  episodes,  but  three  great  generic  points  with 
respect  to  the  rise,  progress,  and  final  triumph  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  in  the  earth.  Thus  the  flight  of  this  swift-winged 
evangel  begins  in  earth's  morning  light,  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  it  traces 
the  progressive  movements  only  as  it  lifts  to  view  these  three 
points — world-evangelization,  its  triumph,  and  the  foregleam 
of  the  eternal  burnings  of  retribution.  The  fact  that  the  third 
paragraph  here  introduces  the  symbolism  that  is  associate  with 
both  figures  of  the  woe — world-power  and  Antichrist — fully 
determines  the  structural  point  relative  to  Babylon.  It  is  where 
we  shall  find  it  in  the  coming  Trilogy — in  the  wilderness,  where 
the  fallen  kingdom  of  God  hides  in  its  shame.  These  con- 
trastive paragraphs  here  speak  with  a  power  that  is  simply 
whelming. 

The   character   of   the   message   proclaimed   by   this   great 
world-evangel  is  worthy  of  the  celestial  herald  who  bears  it. 


28o  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

It  epitomizes  the  subject-matter  of  that  evangehsm  that  is 
destined  to  bring  the  world  to  Christ.  It  is,  "Fear  God,  and 
give  glory  to  him ;  for  the  hour  of  his  judgment  is  come :  and 
worship  him  that  made  heaven,  and  earth,  and  the  sea,  and 
the  fountain  of  waters."  It  will  be  noticed  that  it  is  embodied 
in  a  triad  and  quadrate  which  take  the  full  range  of  things 
spiritual  and  material.  The  involutions  that  look  out  upon  us 
from  this  angelic  sermon  show  that  it  voices  universal  truth. 
Its  great  initial  thought  is  that  of  divine  fear.  It  then  pre- 
sents duty — give  him  glory.  It  enforces  its  commands  by 
the  swift  approach  of  the  hour  of  judgment;  so  near  that  it 
is  proleptically  held  before  the  mind  as  present.  God  is  to  be 
feared  because  of  the  certainty  of  the  coming  of  the  great  day 
of  final  accounting.  He  is  to  be  worshiped  because  he  is  the 
Creator  of  the  universal  frame.  Of  course,  the  modern  pulpit 
could  give  this  celestial  herald  points  on  preaching.  It  would 
arrest  his  onward  flight  and  express  its  amazement  that  he 
should  not  know  better  than  to  preface  his  message  to  a  lost 
world  with  such  a  word  as  "fear."  The  message  as  corrected 
would  be,  "Love  God,  and  have  a  good  time,"  and  cut  out 
all  reference  to  the  coming  judgment.  Again,  this  angel  is 
behind  the  times ;  he,  plainly,  has  never  properly  qualified  him- 
self in  natural  science,  for  he  gives  evidence  that  he  is  not  an 
evolutionist.  He  presents  the  God  of  the  Bible,  who  created 
all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power.  But  if  in  reality  he  is 
divinely  commissioned  the  message  that  he  thus  character- 
istically proclaims  will   reach  the  quadrate  to  which  it  has 

been  sent. 

The  Fall  of  Babylon 

This  central  utterance  of  this  central  section  of  the  Counter- 
part presents  factors  that  are  of  the  greatest  exegetical  value. 
At  the  head  of  this  Counterpart  the  sun-robed  woman  is  meta- 
morphosed into  Mount  Sion,  a  new  symbol ;  so  the  great  antag- 
onist of  Sion  is  in  like  manner  here  metamorphosed  into  Baby- 
lon.   The  fact  that  the  next  paragraph  deals  with  both  phases 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  281 

of  the  antithetic  woe  section — world-power  and  Antichrist — 
fully  determines  a  most  important  point.  The  reflex  of  Babylon 
must  be  sought  for  in  the  Basilophanic  prefatory  section.  The 
angelic  vision  penetrates  the  shades  where  hides  the  dragonized 
kingdom  of  God,  and  he  beholds  her  in  all  her  foulness  as  she 
will  soon  rise  to  view.  He  also  looks  onward  and  sees  her 
as  finally  and  forever  fallen.  The  fact  that  he  cries,  ''Fallen, 
fallen,  is  Babylon  the  great,  which  hath  made  all  nations  to 
drink  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication,"  has  pre- 
sented a  most  perplexing  problem  for  the  scholars.  As  there 
are  two  defeats  of  the  figure  of  the  Basilophany,  so  each  pre- 
sents its  antithesis.  Both  phases  combine  as  an  indivisible  unit 
in  the  two  woe  sections,  and  as  thus  fully  developed  give  us 
the  great  Babylonian  mystery  of  the  Trilogy.  The  reader  will 
note  that,  as  conceptually  before  the  vision  of  this  angel, 
Babylon,  in  this  first  section  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatoph- 
any, is  already  recognized  as  the  occult  power  that  will  pervert 
the  nations.  The  manner  in  which  the  features  of  the  domi- 
nant terrene  therion  and  Babylon  blend  will  be  discussed  in 
the  Trilogy.  It  is  also  worthy  of  especial  attention  here  that 
the  only  figure  of  this  adverse  coalition  which  is  recognized 
as  fallen  is  this  of  great  Babylon.  The  drama  next  concerns 
itself  with  a  scene  of  divine  retribution,  not  mentioning  the 
dragon  at  all  and  the  beast  symbolism  of  the  woe  as  in  the 
thrall  of  retributive  judgment.  Structurally  the  Counterpart 
here  presents  the  fact,  which  will  develop  in  the  Trilogy,  that 
in  the  fall  of  great  Babylon  the  whole  adverse  coalition  simul- 
taneously crashes  to  ruin. 

The  Fearful  Doom  of  the  Slaves  of  the  Beast 
"And  the  third  angel  followed  them,  saying  with  a  loud 
voice,  If  any  man  worship  the  beast,  and  his  image,  and  receive 
his  mark  in  his  forehead,  or  in  his  hand,  the  same  shall  drink 
of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God,  which  is  poured  out  without 
mixture  into  the  cup  of  his  indignation ;  and  he  shall  be  tor- 


282  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

merited  with  fire  and  brimstone  in  the  presence  of  the  holy 
angels,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb:  and  the  smoke  of 
their  torment  ascendeth  up  forever  and  ever:  and  they  have 
no  rest  day  nor  night,  who  worship  the  beast  and  his  image, 
and  whosoever  receiveth  the  mark  of  his  name." 

The  evident  design  here  in  all  these  sections  is  to  present 
generic  truths  and  to  establish  the  correlate  structural  lines. 
There  is  no  dealing  here  with  any  of  the  principles  of  the 
adverse  side  of  this  series;  neither  dragon  nor  beasts  are 
dealt  with  personally;  only  this  metamorphosed  figure,  dis- 
covered by  angel  eyes  as  within  the  shades  of  the  wilder- 
ness, whom  he  sees  as  thralling  the  whole  earth  and,  under 
the  gospel  message,  finally  crashing  to  ruin.  Back  of  these 
worshipers  are  both  the  theria,  and  back  of  the  theria  is  the 
dragon,  and  all  the  involutions  relative  to  the  period  of  his 
loosing  in  the  earth.  When  great  Babylon  falls  his  master- 
piece of  the  ages  goes  down,  and  with  it  the  foundation  upon 
which  it  was  erected.  The  cup  of  the  divine  wrath  will  be 
poured  out  in  a  distributive  manner  in  the  retributive  series, 
where  we  shall  also  see  that  the  same  smoke  that  here  rises 
as  the  smoke  of  the  torment  of  these  worshipers  of  the  great 
antichristian  world-power  also  rises  above  the  ruins  of  burn- 
ing Babylon,  showing  that  these  three  but  present  diverse 
phases  of  the  one  great  day  of  Almighty  God. 

Having  reached  this  terminal  point  of  divine  retribution, 
the  symbolism  again  halts.  The  utterance  of  the  three  para- 
graphs to  follow  will  be  prefaced  by  a  structural  marking 
which,  if  apprehended,  will  tell  us  whither  the  lines  are  now 
about  to  be  projected.  They  will  complete,  in  the  same  pro- 
leptic  way  as  the  preceding  paragraphs  have  dealt  with  the 
issues  relative  to  them,  the  outlined  scope  of  the  book  of  the 
Pneumatophany  as  presented  in  the  exponential  voicings  at 
its  head. — ''And  the  time  of  the  dead,  that  they  should  be 
judged,  and  that  thou  shouldest  give  reward  unto  thy  servants 
the  prophets,  and  to  the  saints,  and  them  that  fear  thy  name, 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  283 

small  and  great;  and  shouldcst  destroy  them  which  destroy 
the  earth." 

Structural  Marking  of  the  Section  of  Finalities 
"Here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints:  here  are  they  that  keep 
the  commandments  of  God,  and  the  faith  of  Jesus." 

The  importance  of  this  utterance  is  such  that  a  clear  under- 
standing of  its  significance  should  be  grasped  ere  we  attempt 
to  deal  with  what  follows.  It  is  the  structural  marking  which 
tells  us  that  it  relates  to  the  period  of  the  dragonic  war  with 
the  remnant  of  Israel,  or  of  the  woman's  seed  (12.  17). 
This  thought  is  lifted  to  view  at  the  point  of  the  introduction 
of  the  Antichrist  (13.  10).  It  recognizes  as  within  the  lines 
of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  the  Retributive  Trilogy  in 
epitome,  and  incidentally  in  its  leading  generic  exponent,  as 
quoted  above,  shows  that  the  facts  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  the  reward  of  the  righteous,  and  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked  are  an  inclusion  of  these  terminal  paragraphs. 

The  Third,  and  Final,  Section  of  the  Counterpart 
The  Voicing  of  the  Spirit 

The  paragraph  with  which  this  characterization  of  finalities 
begins  has  been  considered  as  one  of  the  most  obscure  that 
occurs  in  the  book.  As  a  beatitude  pronounced  upon  the 
righteous  dead  it  has  furnished  a  funeral  text  more  frequently 
used  than  any  other,  and  that  has  been  chiseled  in  marble  as 
the  most  fitting  tribute  to  Christian  faith. 

As  following  the  exponent  preceding  it  might  be  considered 
as  associated  with  it  in  the  completion  of  an  exponential  seven. 
The  combined  picture  then  becomes  most  impressive.  Both 
relate  to  the  same  point — the  cross.  The  "patience  of  the 
saints  refers  to  the  fearful  ordeal  of  the  coming  great  tribula- 
tion through  which  they  are  to  pass,  while  this  blessedness" 
relates  to  the  assurance  given  with  the  "white  robes"  to  the 
martyrs   under   the   altar.     Their   robing  just   precedes   the 


284  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

"great  earthquake"  there,  and  squares  with  the  same  point 
here — Satan's  loosing.  This  point  of  correlation  should  be 
held  in  mind,  as  the  blessedness  of  these  departed  saints  who 
should  "rest"  reverts  to  the  same  point  as  that  which  enjoins 
"rest"  for  the  "little  season"  of  the  coming  martyrdom  in 
which  their  brethren  and  fellow  servants  would  be  slain.  This 
word  "rest"  is  therefore  the  connective  here,  and  reveals  the 
fact  that  in  this  final  section  we  have  the  "great  earthquake" 
and  the  sequent  issues  which  lead  up  to  the  finality.  The  great 
earthquake  is  again  shown  by  this  utterance  to  be  identical 
with  Satan's  loosing.  Blood  will  flow,  for  he  will  persecute 
as  his  "short  time"  passes,  but  in  view  of  the  cross,  and  the 
fact  that  "white  robes"  now  are  given  to  the  victors,  this 
"voice  from  heaven"  pronounces,  "Blessed  are  the  dead  which 
die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth."  The  Eternal  Spirit,  as 
though  answering  this  voice  from  his  position  upon  the  earth 
and  sea,  says,  "Yea,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors ;  and 
their  works  do  follow  them." 

The  Harvest  of  the  World 

"And  I  looked,  and  behold  (i)  a  white  cloud,  and  (2)  upon 
the  cloud  one  sat  like  unto  the  Son  of  man,  (3)  having  on 
his  head  a  golden  crown,  (4)  and  in  his  hand  a  sharp  sickle. 
(5)  And  another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple,  crying  with 
a  loud  voice  to  him  that  sat  on  the  cloud,  Thrust  in  thy  sickle, 
and  reap:  (6)  for  the  harvest  of  the  earth  is  ripe.  (7)  And 
he  that  sat  on  the  cloud  thrust  in  his  sickle  on  the  earth ;  and 
the  earth  was  reaped." 

In  the  Parable  of  the  Sower  our  Lord  portrays  in  figure 
the  progress  of  gospel  semination  throughout  the  coming  age. 
He  employs  the  quadrate:  (i)  The  seed  falls  by  the  way- 
side, and  the  birds  snatch  it  away.  (2)  Upon  stony  ground, 
and  the  sun  scorches  it.  (3)  Among  thorns,  and  they  spring 
up  and  choke  it.  (4)  Upon  good  ground,  and  it  produces  the 
harvest. 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  285 

In  the  Parable  of  the  Tares  and  the  Wheat  we  see  both  are 
allowed  to  grow  together  until  "the  harvest."  This  is  stated 
to  be  at  "the  end  of  the  world,"  or  age ;  when  the  tares  will 
be  gathered  and  burned,  and  the  wheat  will  be  gathered  into 
the  garner.  It  is  plain  that  these  reaping  and  vintage  scenes 
now  before  us  are  simply  another  phase  of  the  truths  pre- 
sented in  these  parables.  They  coincide  in  pointing  to  the 
climacteric  hour  of  the  gospel  dispensation.  The  statement 
made  by  our  Lord  in  explanation  with  respect  to  this  gospel 
semination  of  the  earth  clearly  identifies  himself  as  the  sower. 
He  says: 

"He  that  soweth  the  good  seed  is  the  Son  of  man ;  the  field 
is  the  world;  the  good  seed  are  the  children  of  the  kingdom; 
but  the  tares  are  the  children  of  the  wicked  one ;  the  enemy 
that  sowed  them  is  the  devil ;  the  harvest  is  the  end  of  the 
world;  and  the  reapers  are  the  angels"  (Matt.  13.  37-39). 

If  this  reference  discloses  the  personality  of  this  angel  evan- 
gel, the  next,  or  Babylonian  angel,  will  be  surrounded  in  the 
Trilogy  with  paraphernalia  that  will  identify  him  as  the  Eter- 
nal Spirit.  The  hint  that  is  thus  given  in  the  beatitude  with 
which  this  final  triad  opens  should  not  be  lost  upon  us,  inasmuch 
as  the  following  paragraph  introduces  the  Son  of  man  as  the 
great  Harvester.  The  final  paragraph  in  both  these  triads 
presents  the  same  ominous  outlook  for  the  wicked.  In  the 
one  case  there  is  an  angel  who  lifts  the  veil  upon  burning 
Babylon,  while  in  the  other  the  fire-angel  from  the  altar  super- 
intends the  vintage  of  the  earth.  The  office  of  these  para- 
graphs, as  they  are  thus  divided  into  two  sections  with  three 
angels  on  either  side,  will  become  more  apparent  as  we  find 
their  point  of  adjustment  in  the  Trilogy. 

The  fact  that  this  Reaper  who  is  like  unto  the  Son  of  man 
is  throned  upon  this  white  cloud  has  been  universally  con- 
ceived as  significant  of  the  promised  second  coming  of  Christ 
with  the  clouds  of  heaven ;  and,  while  this  conception  need 
not  be  disturbed,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  this  cloud 


286  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

symbol  already  occupies  commanding  position  as  robing  the 
Pneumatoplianic  figure  whose  hand  presents  this  third  book 
of  the  series.  The  recognition  of  the  cloud  here  is  important, 
as  in  the  Trilogy  it  metamorphoses  into  "a  great  White 
Throne";  both  figures,  without  doubt,  in  harmony  with  the 
statement  in  the  Evangelist :  "They  shall  see  the  Son  of  man 
coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory. 
And  he  shall  send  his  angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet, 
and  they  shall  gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four  winds, 
from  one  end  of  heaven  to  the  other"  (Matt.  24.  30,  31). 

In  connection  with  these  reaping  and  vintage  scenes  the 
reader  should  carefully  study  Joel  3,  where  these  symbols 
are  combined  with  respect  to  the  issues  of  that  great  san- 
guinary field  where  the  combined  world-power  goes  down 
before  the  Israel  of  God.  The  crown  also,  upon  the  head  of 
this  reaper,  may  have  its  lesson  to  teach.  It  is  not  the  diadem 
which  will  later  appear  upon  the  head  of  the  great  Leader 
of  the  white-robed  battalions  upon  the  plains  of  Armageddon, 
but  the  Stephanos  which  was  given  unto  the  white  horseman 
of  the  first  seal,  which  was  worn  by  the  elders,  and  which 
rested  upon  the  brow  of  the  sun-robed  woman.  As  a  divine 
teaching  point  it  is  not  without  its  mystic  significance  here. 
It  has  an  especial  meaning  as  placed  in  this  harvest  scene  upon 
the  brow  of  the  divine  Reaper.  The  diadems  will  be  worn 
when  he  faces  the  usurping  world-power  upon  the  field  of 
Armageddon.  The  temple  also,  which  is  shown  in  the  expo- 
nential utterances  at  the  head  of  this  book,  has  its  lesson  to 
give  us  here  at  the  close.  We  shall  meet  all  these  phases  again 
as  the  panorama  makes  its  final  adjustments  in  the  retributive 
series. 

The  Great  World-Vintage 

"(i)  And  another  angel  came  out  of  the  temple  which  is 
in  heaven,  he  also  having  a  sharp  sickle.  (2)  And  another 
angel  came  out  from  the  altar,  which  had  power  over  fire; 
and  cried  with  a  great  voice  to  him  that  had  the  sharp  sickle. 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  287 

saying,  (3)  Thrust  in  thy  sharp  sickle,  and  gather  the  ckisters 
of  the  vine  of  the  earth;  (4)  for  her  grapes  are  fully  ripe. 
(5)  And  the  angel  thrust  in  his  sickle  into  the  earth,  and 
gathered  the  vintage  of  the  earth,  and  cast  it  into  the  great 
wine  press  of  the  wrath  of  God.  (6)  And  the  wine  press 
was  trodden  without  the  city,  (7)  and  there  came  out  blood 
from  the  wine  press,  even  unto  the  bridles  of  the  horses,  by 
the  space  of  a  thousand  and  six  hundred  furlongs." 

Fearful  the  scene  which  closes  this  book  of  the  Pneuma- 
tophany !  Terrible  the  sweep  of  the  sickle  of  divine  justice, 
which,  though  long  delayed,  descends  at  last,  and  gathers  the 
ripened  grapes  of  the  earth  for  the  great  wine  press  of  the 
wrath  of  God!  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  angel  who 
flies  in  mid  heaven  with  the  eternal  gospel  is  a  mystic  figure 
in  which  is  voiced  the  generic  principle  of  world-evangeliza- 
tion. Hence  this  angel  who  now  comes  forth  from  the  temple 
of  God  must  be  in  like  manner  conceived  as  the  embodiment 
of  the  retributive  forces  which  will  execute  the  judgment  of 
God.  He  is  therefore  more  than  a  mere  personality.  The 
temple  stands  in  this  book  as  the  antithesis  of  the  pit.  We 
must  not  forget  the  picture  that  was  given  of  it  in  the  sym- 
bolism of  the  Pneumatophany.  There  it  was  measured — its 
altar,  and  the  worshipers  within  its  inner  courts.  Its  outer 
court  is  given  to  the  Gentiles,  whose  oppressive  feet  are  to 
tread  down  the  city  of  God  for  the  period  of  forty-two  months 
— the  full  lifetime  of  the  beast.  Under  its  altar  the  souls  of 
the  martyrs  cry  for  that  justice  which  will  avenge  their  blood 
on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth.  They  were  bidden  to  wait 
until  the  complement  of  the  martyrs  was  full.  That  hour  has 
now  arrived.  The  loud  cry  of  this  altar  angel  is  simply  the 
metamorphosed  voicing  of  this  martyr  host,  petitioning  God 
for  justice.  This  angel  has  power  over  fire.  When  the  blood 
of  the  first  martyr  cried  from  the  ground  it  had  power  over 
fire.  The  voice  of  this  altar  angel  stirs  the  arrows  in  Jeho- 
vah's quiver.     It  now  throws  the  leash  of  the  lightnings  of  his 


288  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

awful  throne.  The  treading  of  this  great  wine  press  of  the 
wrath  of  God  belongs  to  the  chief  martyr — the  Lamb.  The 
parallels  of  this  vintage  scene  are  most  instructive.  Isaiah 
beholds  a  day  when  the  Lord  shall  arise  in  the  glory  of  his 
majesty  to  shake  terribly  the  earth.  So  fearful  is  the  hour 
that  men  hide  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks  to  escape  the  flamings 
of  his  vengeance  (Isa.  2.  19-21). 

He  in  a  striking  manner  parallels  this  vintage  scene.  He 
cries,  "Who  is  this  that  cometh  from  Edom,  with  dyed  gar- 
ments from  Bozrah?  this  that  is  glorious  in  his  apparel,  trav- 
eling in  the  greatness  of  his  strength?  I  that  speak  in  right- 
eousness, mighty  to  save.  Wherefore  art  thou  red  in  thine 
apparel,  and  thy  garments  like  him  that  treadeth  in  the  wine 
fat?  Lhave  trodden  the  wine  press  alone;  and  of  the  people 
there  was  none  with  me :  for  I  will  tread  them  in  mine  anger, 
and  trample  them  in  my  fury ;  and  their  blood  shall  be  sprin- 
kled upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain  all  my  raiment.  For 
the  day  of  vengeance  is  in  my  heart,  and  the  year  of  my  re- 
deemed is  come"  (Isa.  63.  1-4).  As  apposite  to  this  last  state- 
ment, the  whole  of  the  context  relates  to  the  defection,  punish- 
ment, and  final  restoration  of  Israel  (Joel  3.  12-16;  Ezek.  37). 

As  this  vintage  scene  finally  rises  before  us  in  the  Trilogy 
it  presents  the  figure  of  the  militant  Christ  as  mounted  upon 
the  white  horse,  in  the  dual  capacity  of  Judge  and  Executive. 
As  we  look  upon  that  picture,  where  he  thus  rides  forth  upon 
the  field,  we  can  perhaps  grasp  the  correlate  significance  of 
the  statement  before  us  with  respect  to  the  river  of  gore  which 
rose  up  to  the  bridles  of  the  horses,  causing  them  mystically 
to  swim  in  the  crimson  flood.  As  he  is  there  mounted  upon 
his  white  charger  all  the  armies  with  like  mount  follow  him. 
He  is  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood,  and  his  name  is 
called  The  Word  of  God. 

"And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  with  it 
he  should  smite  the  nations :  and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a  rod 
of  iron:  and  he  treadeth  the  wine  press  of  the  fierceness  and 


The  Book  of  the  Pneumatophany  289 

wrath  of  Almighty  God.  And  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on 
his  thigh  a  name  written,  KING  OF  KINGS,  AND  LORD 
OF  LORDS." 

These  parallels  so  fully  identify  the  chief  Agency  in  this 
scene  of  retribution  as  to  leave  nothing  further  to  be  desired, 
though  the  scene  will  become  more  thrilling  still  in  the  finality 
of  the  Trilogy. 

The  great  wine  press  of  the  wrath  of  Almighty  God  is 
trodden  without  the  city.  This  statement  has  given  rise  to 
much  perplexity.  What  city  ?  Alford  answers,  Jerusalem ; 
and  Whedon,  Babylon.  The  answer  to  the  question  is  difficult 
because  the  outlines  of  two  cities  rise  to  view  in  the  section 
now  before  us,  though  only  Babylon  is  mentioned  as  such. 
The  thought  may  be  that  Zion,  long  trodden  down  by  the  feet 
of  the  alien,  is  now  forever  delivered,  and  that  this  awful 
stream  of  vengeance  flows  beyond  the  walls  and  gates  which 
will  shut  out  all  forms  of  strife  forever.  While,  again,  if 
Babylon  is  the  city  intended,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how 
the  wine  press  can  be  trodden  without  the  city,  as  the  city 
itself  is  the  object  of  the  divine  vengeance.  In  the  final 
Counterpart  the  scene  of  the  punitive  justice  of  God  is  placed 
as  without  the  gates  of  pearl.  "Without  are  dogs,  and  sor- 
cerers, and  whoremongers,  and  murderers,  and  idolaters,  and 
whosoever  loveth  and  maketh  a  lie."  And  it  is  without  that 
the  retributive  justice  of  God  will  leave  them  forever.  It 
might  be  conceivable  that,  as  the  exponents  of  this  book  give 
us  to  understand  that  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  coincident 
with  these  jfinalities,  this  fact  would  account  for  the  statement, 
referring  to  the  fact  that  this  treading  of  the  great  wine  press 
of  the  wrath  of  God  lies  beyond  the  confines  of  time  and  within 
the  opening  gates  of  eternity.  The  magnitude  of  this  scene 
of  divine  vengeance  is  indicated  in  symbolism  that  is  simply 
whelming.  The  gory  stream  that  flows  out  of  the  wine  press 
rises  to  the  bridles  of  the  horses  and  courses  through  sixteen 
hundred  furlongs — a  little  more  than  two  hundred  literal  miles. 


290  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  number,  of  course,  is  mystic ;  perhaps,  as  some  have  sug- 
gested, it  may  be  composed  of  the  product  of  the  squares  of 
the  quadrate  number  and  the  decimal,  to  signify  that  this  great 
day  of  the  divine  wrath  reaches  up  to  universal  proportions. 
It  is  "the  time  of  the  dead,  that  they  should  be  judged,  and  that 
thou  shouldest  give  reward  unto  thy  servants  the  prophets, 
and  to  the  saints,  and  them  that  fear  thy  name,  small  and 
great ;  and  shouldest  destroy  them  which  destroy  the  earth." 


THE  RETRIBUTIVE  TRILOGY 

"And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment:  but  the 
righteous  into  life  eternal." — Matt.  25.  46. 

Introductory 

Three  great  books  have  now  passed  in  succession  upon 
the  unfolding  scroll  of  this  mighty  Apocalypse.  Each  one  has 
developed  under  the  hand  of  a  distinct  Personality  of  the 
Holy  Trinity  as  disclosed  in  sublime  epiphany.  They  have 
become  familiar  to  us  as  the  book  of  the  Christophany,  with 
its  seven  Epistles  to  the  Churches;  next,  the  book  of  the 
Theophany,  with  its  trinitarian  series,  the  last  of  which  pre- 
sented the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  each  embodying  fac- 
tors and  principles  especially  relevant  to  the  divine  office 
under  characterization.  The  book  of  the  Theophany,  as  the 
ranking  volume  of  the  series,  with  its  peculiarly  linked  trinity 
of  sevens,  completes  its  hyphenated  expression  in  the  awful 
scene  of  the  trodden  wine  press,  which  lay  beyond  the  reaping 
and  vintage  of  the  earth.  Here  the  panorama  pauses,  read- 
justs its  staging,  introduces  a  new  governing  factor,  and 
changes  the  paraphernalia  of  the  executives  which  glide  into 
position  in  the  headlands.  The  zoa  arm  the  ministers  of  divine 
justice,  whose  wings  then  flash  through  the  great  apocalyptic 
field  as  they  discharge  their  golden  vials  upon  the  seven  points 
given  over  to  retribution.  The  vials  emptied,  a  voice  comes 
from  the  throne  saying,  "It  is  done."  This  is  the  prolcptic 
point  of  retributive  punctuation  and  shows  that  the  vials  carry 
us  up  to  the  end. 

The  point  to  which  the  symbolism  now  reverts  is  that  of  the 
headlands  of  the  trumpets,  which  proves  beyond  the  possibility 
of  a  doubt  that  the  vials  are  not  to  be  conceived  as  an  inclusion 
or  sub-seven  of  the  seventh  trumpet,  but  a  full  series  which 


292  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

courses  through  the  entire  trumpet  field,  including  the  figures 
developed  in  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  in  a  way  that 
determines  their  generic  adjustment. 

It  is  highly  important  that  the  reader  grasp  the  fact  that 
the  structural  features  of  this  vial  series  are  identical  with 
those  of  the  seals  and  trumpets,  with  this  exception :  that  the 
Contrastive  Counterpart  does  not  follow  the  sixth  vial,  but  is 
reserved  to  become  the  climacteric  section  of  the  book,  its 
place  here  being  marked  by  the  exponents  of  the  coming 
Trilogy.  This  exponential  marking  is  worthy  of  most  careful 
consideration,  because  of  the  striking  confirmation  which  it 
gives  to  the  point  previously  made  with  respect  to  the  para- 
graphic grouping  of  these  contrastive  or  parenthetic  sections 
which  follow  the  introduction  of  the  adverse  symbolism  of  these 
major  series.  In  each  case  they  present  just  three  distinct 
phases  of  symbol,  thus  showing  that  they  fall  under  the  law 
of  the  triad  and  are  not  intended  to  be  understood  as  a  full 
seven;  though  the  reflex  of  the  seven  may  be  clearly  seen  as 
an  inclusion. 

It  will  the  better  prepare  the  reader  to  understand  the  de- 
cisive character  of  this  numeric  principle  which  governs  the 
development  of  these  series  if  he  will  at  this  point  take  espe- 
cial pains  to  note  its  significant  expression  in  the  different 
phases  of  this  retributive  section:  (i)  All  the  seven  points 
brought  to  view  in  the  trumpet  blasts  are  traversed  again, 
and  end  with  the  dragonic  feature.  (2)  The  different  para- 
graphs or  sections  of  the  Trilogy  will  be  seen  to  follow  very 
closely  the  lines  of  characterization  projected  in  the  Contras- 
tive Counterpart  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  (chapter 
14).    In  outline  they  are  as  follows: 

The  angel  with  the  everlasting  gospel  goes  forth  upon  his 
universal  mission.  Over  against  him  the  first  section  of  the 
Trilogy  presents  the  picture  of  great  Babylon  as  enthroned 
upon  the  marine  therion,  giving  thus  a  comprehensive  view 
of  the  adverse  features  of  the  situation  which  confronts  the 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  293 

gospel  of  Christ.  The  picture  is  carried  up  to  finaHties.  As 
following  this  angel  evangel  in  the  counterpart  we  have  an- 
other angel  who  proclaims  great  Babylon's  fall.  Here  we 
have  ''another  angel"  whose  glory  lightens  the  whole  earth, 
who  proclaims  Babylon's  fall,  while  another  voice  from  on 
high  pronounces  the  sublime  threnody  that  celebrates  the 
event.  Next,  a  third  angel  follows,  who  deals  with  the  wor- 
shipers of  the  beast,  who  also  carries  the  view  up  to  finalities 
as  he  discloses  the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascending  up  for- 
ever and  ever.  Over  against  this  in  the  Trilogy  we  have  the 
great  battle  charge  against  the  beast  upon  the  field  of  Arma- 
geddon, and  the  complete  annihilation  of  all  the  great  adverse 
coalition  by  the  white-robed  armies  of  heaven  and  the  sword 
of  their  multi-diademed  Leader.  The  Trilogy  next  deals  with 
the  dragon,  but  in  this  contrastive  outline  the  name  of  the 
dragon  nowhere  appears.  The  place  where  it  should  be  intro- 
duced, according  to  the  structural  law  of  correlation,  has 
simply  that  mysterious  marking  to  which  attention  was  called 
in  the  previous  volume — "Here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints: 
here  are  they  that  keep  the  commandments  of  God  and  the 
faith  of  Jesus."  This  paragraph  here  becomes  the  exponent 
of  the  dragonic  war  with  the  remnant  of  the  woman's  seed, 
adjusts  its  structural  position,  but  tells  us  that  its  characteriza- 
tion, like  that  of  the  counterpart,  for  reasons  which  will  clearly 
appear  is  deferred  for  climacteric  effect  at  the  culmination 
of  the  Trilogy.  Next,  there  follows  the  paragraph  which  re- 
lates to  the  blessedness  of  the  sainted  dead,  which  is  followed 
by  the  reaping  and  vintage  scenes.  These  phases  also  follow 
the  dragonic  section  in  the  Trilogy.  The  great  white  throne 
takes  the  place  of  the  white  cloud,  while  reward  and  punish- 
ment are  meted  out  to  the  risen  dead ;  which  facts,  if  kept  in 
mind  by  the  reader,  will  most  assuredly  convince  him  of  one 
fact  at  least — the  correlate  adjustment  of  these  series. 


294  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Vial  Scries  of  Retribution 

The  Deployment  of  the  Retributive  Forces 
The  Seven  Angels — Israel — The  Zoa 

It  is  a  solemn  and  profoundly  impressive  scene  when  a 
court  of  justice  places  a  man  on  trial  for  his  life.  The  majesty 
of  the  law  which  he  has  insulted  suddenly  asserts  its  authority. 
It  arrests  him  as  a  criminal,  brings  him  to  its  bar,  and  con- 
fronts him  with  the  proofs  of  his  guilt.  The  testimony  of  the 
witnesses,  the  pleadings  of  counsel,  the  solemn  charge  of  the 
judge,  the  anxious  waiting  for  the  verdict,  the  conviction  and 
sentence,  which  dooms  to  prison  or  death,  present  a  picture 
full  of  tragic  power.  But  no  judicial  scene  ever  witnessed 
on  earth  can  compare  for  tragic  interest  with  the  picture  which 
now  rises  to  view  within  the  lines  of  this  culminating  series  of 
divine  retribution.  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  has  never  ceased 
to  cry  to  God  for  vengeance  since  that  of  Abel  soddened  the 
earth.  Wrongs  unredressed  have  never  ceased  to  make  their 
mute  appeal  throughout  the  ages.  Hearts  that  have  been 
bruised,  broken,  and  trampled  upon  have  grown  weary  wait- 
ing, like  those  whose  cry  John  heard  coming  from  beneath 
the  great  red  altar:  "How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost 
thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on 
the  earth?"  At  last  the  hour  has  come.  Lightnings,  long 
restrained,  leap  in  zigzag  fierceness  from  the  awful  throne  of 
Jehovah.  All  its  seven  thunders  begin  to  roar.  The  flaming 
sword  of  divine  justice  is  unsheathed  and  flashes  in  the  heavens, 
while  fury  rises  in  the  face  of  Deity.  The  great  day  of  the 
wrath  of  God  and  the  Lamb  has  come,  and  while  heaven  and 
earth  are  fleeing  a  guilty  world  vainly  cries  out  in  its  terror, 
"Mountains  and  rocks,  fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of 
him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb ;  for  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  is  come,  and  who  shall 
be  able  to  stand?" 

The  scenic  splendor  which  now   courses  upon  the  screen 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  295 

is  but  the  amplification  and  aggregation  of  all  that  seal  and 
trumpet  have  projected.  The  sevenfold  discharge  of  the  vials 
of  the  wrath  of  God  presents  in  epitome  the  completeness  of 
the  whole  terrific  scene.  The  Trilogy  which  follows  the  seventh 
vial,  according  to  the  structural  law  of  the  book,  will  amplify 
the  issues  thus  concisely  thrown  upon  the  screen. 

The  Governing  Dramatis  Person;e  of  the  Vials 
(i)   The  seven  golden-girdled  angels:  "And  I  saw  another 
sign  in  heaven,  great  and  marvelous,  seven  angels  having  the 
seven  last  plagues ;  for  in  them  is  filled  up  the  wrath  of  God." 

(2)  The  host  of  triumphant  Israel  on  the  crystal  sea:  "And 
I  saw  as  it  were  a  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire:  and  them 
that  had  gotten  the  victory  over  the  beast,  and  over  his  image, 
and  over  his  mark,  and  over  the  number  of  his  name,  stand 
on  the  sea  of  glass,  having  the  harps  of  God.  And  they  sing 
the  song  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God,  and  the  song  of  the 
Lamb,  saying.  Great  and  marvelous  are  thy  works.  Lord  God 
Almighty;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways,  thou  King  of  saints. 
Who  shall  not  fear  thee,  O  Lord,  and  glorify  thy  name?  for 
thou  only  art  holy:  for  all  nations  shall  come  and  worship 
before  thee;  for  thy  judgments  are  made  manifest." 

(3)  The  zoa  arming  the  ministers  of  justice :  "And  after  that 
I  looked,  and,  behold,  the  temple  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  testi- 
mony in  heaven  was  opened:  and  the  seven  angels  came  out 
of  the  temple,  having  the  seven  plagues,  clothed  in  pure  and 
white  linen,  and  having  their  breasts  girded  with  golden  gir- 
dles. And  one  of  the  four  beasts  gave  unto  the  seven  angels 
seven  golden  vials  full  of  the  wrath  of  God,  who  liveth  forever 
and  ever.  And  the  temple  was  filled  with  the  smoke  from  the 
glory  of  God,  and  from  his  power;  and  no  man  was  able  to 
enter  into  the  temple,  till  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels 
were  fulfilled." 

As  has  been  frequently  noted,  the  office  of  these  introductory 
paragraphs  is  most  instructive.     As  every  new  phase  of  the 


296  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

symbolism  has  developed  we  have  found  that  it  was  preceded 
by  a  transformation  of  the  governing  figures  in  the  headlands. 
In  the  book  of  the  Christophany  there  is  a  duality  combined 
in  one  sublime  figure.  In  the  Theophany  the  combination 
of  the  Lamb  and  the  seven  Spirits  reasserts  the  same  feature. 
In  the  trumpets,  which  is  a  subdivision,  the  Lamb  and  seven 
Spirits  are  never  once  named,  the  actors  here  being  the  seven 
trumpet  angels  and  the  angel  of  the  golden  altar.  And,  again, 
in  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  which  is  a  subdivision, 
the  twenty-four  elders  alone  occupy  this  dignified  governing 
position.  In  its  counterpart  the  Lamb  again  is  disclosed,  in 
association  with  sealed  Israel  upon  the  mount.  The  consist- 
ency, therefore,  can  but  be  noticeable  in  this  reintroduction 
of  its  leading  figure  as  the  symbolism  reverts  to  the  trumpets. 

That  there  is  a  mystery  associated  with  this  symbolism  of 
the  seven  angels  is  made  manifest  in  connection  with  its 
introduction  in  the  epistles.  It  is  deepened  as  we  next  behold 
them,  as  deployed  for  action  in  the  field  of  the  trumpets, 
standing  here  in  the  presence  of  the  angel  of  the  golden  altar 
as  they  had  previously  stood  before  God.  In  the  scene  now 
before  us  they  had  come  through  the  opened  doors  of  the  tem- 
ple, within  which  was  disclosed  ''the  ark  of  his  testament."  As 
they  now  stand  at  the  head  of  this  series  of  retribution  we 
instinctively  look  for  the  associate  figure  of  the  angel  of  the 
golden  altar,  but  he  nowhere  appears ;  nor  does  the  figure  of 
the  bleeding  Lamb.  This  absence  of  both  these  symbols  is 
one  of  the  most  impressive  of  the  teaching  points  lifted  to  view 
in  these  headlands  of  retribution.  It  is  declarative  of  the  fact 
that,  in  the  presence  of  these  golden  vials,  atonement  and 
mediation  have  passed  away  forever. 

Is  it  possible  that  the  Lamb  Is  entirely  dissociate  from  this 
retributive  scene?  The  sixth  seal  will  answer,  with  whelming 
power.  No.  It  presents  him  as  the  central  figure,  in  this  awful 
day  of  the  divine  wrath,  with  a  lost  world  terrified  at  his 
presence.     Again,  if  the  office  of  this  altar  angel  is  affected 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  297 

in  this  manner  by  the  readjustment  of  the  hnes,  so  also  must 
be,  in  like  manner,  that  of  the  seven  which  support  his  action. 
Then,  in  the  light  of  all  the  previous  metamorphoses  of  this 
governing  Divine  Duality,  we  surely  must  anticipate  it  here. 
If  the  distributive  symbol  of  the  seven  Spirits  can  combine 
with  that  of  the  Lamb,  there  is  certainly  no  inconsistency  in 
the  conception  that  the  judicial  office  of  Christ  here  expresses 
itself  through  this  figure  that  is  shown  to  be  so  transcendently 
associate  with  him  in  the  development  of  every  part  of  the 
symbolism  of  the  book. 

Here  the  angel  of  Jesus  Christ  recedes  behind  the  golden 
girdle  of  the  Christophany,  which  becomes  the  signum  which 
tells  us  that  the  executive  action  of  this  figure  is  in  reality  that 
of  Christ  himself.  Mere  angels  can  no  more  be  dignified  with 
this  Christophanic  girdle  of  gold  than  they  can  be  with  the 
emerald  glory  that  environs  the  throne.  The  white  robe 
not  only  declares  the  righteousness  of  the  figure  but  also  that 
of  its  action.  Unveiled  within  the  holy  of  holies  of  the  temple 
whence  these  angels  come  is  "the  testimony."  It  is  a  great 
voice  from  this  point  that  sends  these  angels  forth  with  their 
cups  of  retribution.  When  the  last  one  has  been  poured  out 
it  is  a  voice  that  comes  from  the  temple  and  out  of  the  throne 
saying,  'Tt  is  done."  The  demands  of  the  law  have  been 
fully  met,  and  divine  justice  is  satisfied. 

Israel  Triumphant  upon  the  Crystal  Sea 
Israel  was  the  associate  figure  upon  the  mount,  facing  the 
evangelization  of  the  world ;  it  is  consistently  associate  here 
in  the  presence  of  the  fiery  ordeal  of  judgment.  In  these  expo- 
nential headlands  the  concept  is  proleptic.  They  are  thus 
visually  caught  up  from  the  mount  to  stand  upon  these  mystic 
billows  with  the  harps  of  God  in  their  hands,  and  to  voice 
their  triumph  in  the  song  of  Moses,  the  servant  of  God,  and 
the  song  of  the  Lamb.  They  wield  no  thunderbolts ;  they  pour 
out   no   vials.      God   hath   said,   "Vengeance   is   mine,   and    I 


298  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

will  repay."  Theirs  was  a  universal  victory:  the  quadrate 
expresses  this;  while  the  strains  of  their  double  song  take  the 
full  range  of  its  mighty  theme,  from  creation  to  the  judgment. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  marks  of  quadrate  and  triad  here  are 
wanting,  the  point  of  cleavage  being  the  word  "fear." 

The  following  key-words  will  indicate  the  division:  works, 
ways,  fear,  glorify,  holy,  worship,  judgments — the  last  section 
being  a  reflex  of  the  issues  of  chapter  14. 

Nature's  Vengeance  on  Sin 
As  these  seven  executives  of  divine  justice  emerge  from 
the  temple  wearing  the  golden  signia  of  their  office,  and  having 
the  seven  last  plagues,  the  deployment  of  symbol  suddenly  takes 
on  startling  features.  Before  the  throne  are  the  mysterious 
zoa,  who  rest  not  day  nor  night,  chanting,  "Holy,  holy,  holy, 
Lord  God  Almighty,  which  is,  and  which  was,  and  which  is 
to  come."  Their  ceaseless  trisagion  never  sounded  more 
solemn,  or  its  significance  more  portentous,  than  as  asso- 
ciate with  the  act  that  now  transpires.  One  of  the  chanting 
four  presents  to  these  golden-girdled  angels  the  vialed  wrath 
that  will  avenge  the  insult  offered  by  sin  to  that  Holy  Being 
whom  they  ceaselessly  worship.  Which  of  the  zoa  performs 
this  office  does  not  appear  and  therefore  may  not  signify,  the 
essential  fact  being  that  the  divine  executives  are  thus  armed 
for  their  mission  of  vengeance.  The  light  that  is  here  thrown 
upon  the  awful  question  of  the  future  and  eternal  punishment 
of  sin  is  such  as  to  fairly  disclose  the  principles  involved. 
Nature  herself  holds  the  cup  of  retributive  vengeance  that  is 
to  be  discharged  upon  a  guilty  world.  Man,  by  his  free 
choice,  determines  character,  and  character  determines  destiny. 
These  golden  vials  filled  with  the  liquid  wrath  of  God  pre- 
sent an  antithesis  which  touches  the  principle  in  question. 
They  are  a  part  of  the  symbolism  of  the  Theophany.  In  the 
redemptorial  scene  they  appear  as  in  the  hands  of  the  elders 
full  of  sweet  incense,  which  is  the  prayers  of  the  saints.    Thus 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  299 

they  were  filled  in  this  first  instance  by  the  act  of  man  himself, 
thus  establishing  the  principle  which  must  be  conceived  as 
governing  in  the  present  case.  Free  agency  fills  both  sets 
of  vials,  and  God  himself  has  no  power  to  change  to  sweet 
aroma  the  awful  stench  of  a  corrupt  and  God-dishonoring 
life. 

Again,  the  same  law  of  metamorphic  association  here  deter- 
mines the  fact  that  the  executive  agency  behind  the  golden 
girdle  and  linen  robe  is  indeed  Christophanic.  It  was  from 
the  mediatorial  censer  of  the  great  high  priest  that  the  incense 
of  the  golden  vials,  as  mingled  with  that  given  to  the  great 
Officiator,  ascended  up  before  the  throne.  And  it  was  also 
from  that  censer  that  the  fire  taken  from  the  altar  was  cast 
into  the  earth.  Consistently,  it  is  the  same  agency  which  here 
mingles  its  wrath  as  previously  the  merits  of  its  atoning 
blood. 

No  ground  here  for  the  doctrine  that  sin  is  only  punished 
in  this  earthly  life.  Listen,  in  this  connection,  to  the  cry  that 
comes  from  underneath  the  great  red  altar:  "How  long,  O 
Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge,  and  avenge  our 
blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?"  And  still  judgment 
waits  till  in  view  of  the  blood  of  the  cross  the  white  robes 
are  given  and  it  was  said  unto  them  that  they  should  rest  yet 
for  a  "little  season,"  till  their  brethren  and  fellow  servants 
that  should  be  slain  as  they  were  should  be  fulfilled.  This 
little  season  thus  covers  the  last  drop  of  martyr  blood  that 
will  be  shed  on  earth,  and  only  then  will  the  vengeance  of 
God  break  loose.  This  same  anticipation  of  the  "great  day" 
appears  in  the  voicing  respecting  the  coming  wrath  of  God 
in  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany :  "Thy  wrath  is  come,  and 
the  time  of  the  dead,  that  they  should  be  judged,"  the  saints 
rewarded,  and  the  wicked  destroyed.  The  wine  of  the  wrath 
of  God  is  poured  out  undiluted.  The  torment  is  with  fire  and 
brimstone,  in  the  presence  of  the  Lamb  and  the  holy  angels, 
and  its  smoke  ascendeth  up  forever  and  ever. 


300  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

If  nature  should  only  present  to  men  in  irrevocable  fixedness 
the  character  that  they  have  developed  the  symbols  are  none 
too  strong  to  express  its  fearful  import. 

The  Sevenfold  Cup  of  Retribution 
The  Preludial  Throne  Utterance 

It  will  be  recalled  that  it  was  the  second  concerted  utterance 
of  the  throne  voicings  which  introduced  the  Trumpet  series 
and,  again,  that  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany.  The  fact 
that  they  do  not  take  position  again  at  this  point  instead  of 
at  the  head  of  the  Trilogy  tells  us  that  this  retributive  super- 
imposition  upon  the  lines  of  the  trumpets  is  to  be  understood 
in  an  exponential  sense. 

The  action  of  the  series  begins  in  the  temple.  It  is  suddenly 
filled  with  "smoke  from  the  glory  of  God,  and  from  his  power." 
So  fearful  was  the  sight  that  ''no  man  was  able  to  enter  into 
the  temple,  till  the  seven  plagues  of  the  seven  angels  were 
fulfilled."  The  scene  recalls  the  fearful  displays  of  the  divine 
glory  as  recorded  in  Exod.  40.  34,  35  and  in  i  Kings  8.  10,  11. 
The  cloud  of  the  divine  glory  now  fills  the  temple  and  enfolds 
the  ark  of  the  testimony,  significantly  barring  humanity  out 
of  its  courts  until  the  throne  shall  announce  that  vengeance 
upon  sin  has  been  fully  executed.  (Note  that  this  smoke  of 
the  temple  is  the  antithesis  of  that  of  the  pit.) 

The  Pouring  Out  of  the  Vials 
"And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple  saying  to  the 
seven  angels,  Go  your  ways,  and  pour  out  the  vials  of  the 
wrath  of  God  upon  the  earth." 

The  first  vial  poured  out  upon  the  earth:  "And  the  first 
went,  and  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  earth;  and  there  fell 
a  noisome  and  grievous  sore  (i)  upon  the  men  which  had 
the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  (2)  upon  them  which  worshiped 
his  image." 

The  second  vial  poured  out  upon  the  sea:  "And  the  second 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  301 

angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  sea ;  and  it  became  as  the 
blood  of  a  dead  man :  and  every  living  soul  died  in  the  sea." 

The  third  vial  poured  out  on  the  fountains  of  waters :  "And 
the  third  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  rivers  and  foun- 
tains of  waters;  and  they  became  blood.  And  I  heard  the 
angel  of  the  waters  say,  Thou  art  righteous,  O  Lord,  which 
art,  and  wast,  and  shall  be,  because  thou  hast  judged  thus: 
for  they  have  shed  the  blood  of  saints  and  prophets,  and  thou 
hast  given  them  blood  to  drink;  for  they  are  worthy.  And 
I  heard  another  out  of  the  altar  saying,  Even  so.  Lord  God 
Almighty,  true  and  righteous  are  thy  judgments." 

The  fourth  vial  poured  out  upon  the  sun:  "And  the  fourth 
angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  sun ;  and  power  was  given 
unto  him  to  scorch  men  with  fire.  And  men  were  scorched 
with  great  heat,  and  blasphemed  the  name  of  God,  which  hath 
power  over  these  plagues:  and  they  repented  not  to  give  him 
glory." 

The  fifth  vial  poured  out  upon  the  throne  of  the  beast: 
"And  the  fifth  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  throne  of 
the  beast;  and  his  kingdom  was  full  of  darkness;  and  they 
gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain,  and  blasphemed  the  God  of 
heaven  because  of  their  pains,  and  their  sores,  and  repented 
not  of  their  deeds." 

The  sixth  vial  poured  out  upon  the  great  Euphrates:  "And 
the  sixth  angel  poured  out  his  vial  upon  the  great  river  Eu- 
phrates;  and  the  water  thereof  was  dried  up,  that  the  way 
might  be  made  ready  for  the  kings  that  come  from  the 
sunrising." 

Structural  marking  of  the  Contrastive  Counterpart:  "(i) 
And  I  saw  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs  come  out  of  the 
mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  beast,  and 
out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet.  For  they  are  the  spirits 
of  devils,  working  miracles,  which  go  forth  unto  the  kings  of 
the  earth  and  of  the  whole  world,  to  gather  them  to  the  battle 
of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty.     (2)  Behold,  I  come  as  a 


302  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

thief.  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth,  and  keepeth  his  garments, 
lest  he  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his  shame.  (3)  And  he  gath- 
ered them  together  into  a  place  called  in  the  Hebrew  tongue 
Armageddon." 

The  vial  of  the  seventh  angel  poured  into  the  air :  "And  the 
seventh  angel  poured  out  his  vial  into  the  air ;  and  there  came 
a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple  of  heaven,  from  the  throne, 
saying.  It  is  done." 

The  series  of  retribution  being  projected  so  clearly  upon 
the  structural  lines  of  the  trumpet  series  simply  presents  its 
factors  in  a  new  set  of  equations,  as  under  changed  coefficients 
and  exponents.  Each  point  brought  to  view  by  the  trumpet 
blast  is  now  to  be  traversed  by  the  winged  vengeance  of  the 
vials.  The  first  trumpet  was  followed  by  hail  and  fire,  min- 
gled with  blood,  descending  into  the  earth,  destroying  the  one 
third  part  of  the  trees  and  all  the  green  grass.  Now  the  first 
vial  is  poured  out  upon  the  same  point,  but,  instead  of  affecting 
trees  and  grass,  two  of  the  adverse  factors  of  the  book  of  the 
Pneumatophany  are  shown  to  be  correspondingly  affected  as 
this  first  effusion  of  the  divine  wrath  is  unvialed.  A  noisome 
and  grievous  sore  falls  upon  those  that  have  the  mark  of  the 
beast  and  upon  those  that  worship  his  image,  the  method  of 
expression  evidently  referring  to  two  distinct  groups. 

Again,  most  important  teaching  points  are  presented  in  the 
fact  that  both  the  quadrate  and  the  triad  of  this  series  begin 
with  these  same  factors,  and,  whatever  we  may  conceive  with 
respect  to  the  question  of  coincidence  or  continuity,  it  is  cer- 
tainly clear  that  the  sores  of  the  first  vial  are  present  to 
aggravate  the  pains  of  the  fifth. 

The  reader  will  note  the  occult  suggestions  in  the  fact  that 
it  was  out  of  the  earth  that  the  two-horned  beast  arose,  the 
reference  to  the  "mark"  and  "image"  showing  that  his  per- 
sonality is  to  be  conceived  as  in  the  background  of  the  picture, 
while  at  the  head  of  the  triad  the  recognition  of  the  marine 
therion  is  equally  clear. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  303 

The  second  point  in  both  trumpets  and  vials  is  the  sea.  Into 
this  the  great  burning  mountain  fell,  turning  its  one  third  to 
blood  and  destroying  one  third  of  its  ships  and  life.  It  was 
out  of  this  same  sea  that  the  great  seven-headed,  ten-homed 
monster  arose.  Now  the  descending  wrath  of  God  falling 
upon  this  sea  turns  its  already  crimsoned  waves  into  the  stag- 
nant coagulation  of  death,  and  causes  the  total  destruction 
of  every  living  thing  that  moved  within  its  waters. 

Next  the  rivers  and  fountains,  embittered  by  the  wormwood, 
are  also  turned  to  blood.  There  can  be  no  question  that  the 
vial  here  also  is  to  be  understood  as  intensifying  the  trumpet 
symbol.  Two  angelic  voicings  are  interposed  at  this  point. 
The  angel  of  the  waters  attests  the  righteousness  of  the  visi- 
tation that  falls  at  this  point,  showing  that  back  of  the  figure 
we  are  still  to  conceive  this  same  adverse  coalition  against 
the  saints  and  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  slaughtered  saints 
under  the  altar  cried,  **How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost 
thou  not  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?" 
The  voice  of  this  altar  angel  now  also  attests  the  righteousness 
of  the  judgments  of  God.  The  waters  stand  for  the  adverse 
quadrate  of  humanity  (17.  15),  and  thus  sin,  transfixed  by 
the  lightnings  of  the  divine  wrath,  will  say,  as  it  goes  out 
into  the  eternal  midnight,  that  God  is  just,  while  the  cry  of 
the  martyrs  will  be  hushed  in  the  presence  of  the  retributive 
vengeance  of  God. 

In  the  trumpets,  in  the  next  instance,  the  celestial  lumi- 
naries are  partially  darkened.  Naturally  we  would  expect 
that  totality  would  now  ensue,  but  the  reverse  is  the  case. 
As  the  vial  is  poured  upon  the  sun  it  begins  to  flame  in  un- 
wonted splendor,  so  that  it  blinds  with  its  light  and  scorches 
with  its  heat,  while  men  blaspheme  God  on  account  of  it. 
As  the  quadrate  ends  it  is  asserted  again,  as  at  the  end  of  the 
trumpet  series,  that  men  repented  not.  Punishment  under  the 
vial  is  no  more  reclamatory  than  under  the  less  terrifying 
conditions  brought  to  view  in  the  trumpets.     A  passage  in 


304  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Isaiah  is  suggestive  of  correlation  at  this  point.  The  theme 
is  the  final  restoration  of  Israel.  The  prophet  says,  "And 
there  shall  be  upon  every  high  mountain,  and  upon  every  hill, 
rivers  and  streams  of  waters  in  the  day  of  the  great  slaughter, 
when  the  towers  fall.  Moreover,  the  light  of  the  moon  shall 
be  as  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun  shall  be 
sevenfold,  as  the  light  of  seven  days,  in  the  day  that  the  Lord 
bindeth  up  the  breach  of  his  people,  and  healeth  the  stroke  of 
their  wound"  (30.  25-29). 

As  we  pass  forward  to  the  sphere  of  the  triad  we  find  that 
the  pouring  out  of  the  fifth  vial  brings  to  view  features  of  the 
symbolism  that  are  of  first  importance  to  our  study. 

It  will  be  noted  here  that  this  first  vial  of  the  triad  does  not 
descend  upon  the  "star  fallen  from  heaven,"  who  opened  the 
door  of  the  pit,  nor  upon  the  horde  of  locust  demons  which 
emerged  from  it,  but  upon  the  throne  of  the  beast  thus  struc- 
turally placing  this  throne,  which  does  not  develop  until  in  con- 
nection with  the  symbolism  of  the  third  Woe,  as  conceptually 
present  in  the  smoke  of  the  opened  pit.  The  sequence  of  the 
vial  discharge  is  that  the  kingdom  of  the  beast  is  full  of  dark- 
ness. Under  the  trumpet  the  smoke  that  arose  from  the  pit 
darkened  the  sun  and  the  air.  Here  the  judgment  of  God 
darkens  the  kingdom  set  up  by  the  dragon  on  the  earth.  "And 
they  gnawed  their  tongues  for  pain,  and  blasphemed  the  God 
of  heaven  because  of  their  pains  and  their  sores,  and  repented 
not  of  their  deeds."  The  exegetical  value  of  the  coincidence 
of  these  structural  lines  will  hardly  be  missed  by  the  studious 
reader. 

As  the  next  vial  descends  upon  the  great  river  Euphrates, 
out  of  which  the  four  bound  angels  were  loosed  under  the 
corresponding  trumpet,  we  see  that  there  is  indeed  a  studied 
purpose  disclosed  with  respect  to  the  introduction  of  the  throne 
of  the  beast  and  the  darkness  enveloping  his  kingdom,  in 
connection  with  the  preceding  structural  point.  The  flood 
that  rose  out  of  the  bed  of  this  mystic  river  now  begins  to 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  305 

dry  up,  that  the  way  of  the  kings  that  come  from  the  sunrise 
might  be  prepared.  Here  again  the  structural  law  of  these 
series  speaks  with  a  force  that  is  simply  irresistible,  once  its 
significance  is  clearly  grasped.  This  sixth  member  of  these 
great  sevens  of  the  book  is  the  terminal  point  of  consecutive 
characterization.  The  seventh  seal  and  trumpet  both  find 
expression  in  a  new  series  grouped  as  a  sub-seven.  This 
feature  holds  in  the  vials. 

Under  the  sixth  seal  the  scope  of  characterization  takes  the 
full  sweep  of  the  apocalyptic  field,  from  the  point  of  the  con- 
vulsive earthquake  to  that  of  the  wrath  of  God  in  the  great 
day  when  men  still  impenitent  would  be  beseeching  the  moun- 
tains and  rocks  to  fall  upon  them  and  hide  them  from  the 
face  of  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Lamb.  Under  the  trumpet  symbolism  we  have  occultly 
the  loosing  of  Satan  and  topography  which  also  occultly  intro- 
duces Babylon.  The  great  fact  which  thus  rises  before  us 
in  the  structural  perspective  is  that  the  Babylonian  symbolism 
presents  the  terminal  phase  of  the  adverse  panorama.  The 
reader  is  familiar  with  the  fact  that  under  the  seventh  trumpet 
it  was  shown  that  the  correlation  of  its  amplified  lines  called 
for  Babylon,  at  the  head  of  its  series,  as  occultly  in  the  shadows 
of  its  wilderness.  The  sixth  vial  descending  upon  this  same 
topographical  region,  and  drying  up  its  flood  of  waters  before 
the  coming  of  the  conquering  kings  of  the  sunrise,  should 
fully  prepare  us  for  the  subdivision  of  the  seventh  vial  which 
lifts  the  veil  and  discloses  the  figure  of  great  Babylon  in  all  the 
splendor  of  her  gorgeous  robings  and  in  all  the  horrors  of  her 
debauch  of  blood.  How  she  thralls  the  whole  earth,  and  is 
finally  destroyed  by  the  horns  of  the  beast  she  rides,  is  the 
story  of  the  Trilogy.  The  prophetic  and  historic  base  of  the 
symbol  of  the  drying  up  of  these  waters  of  the  great  Euphrates 
may  be  found  in  Isa.  44.  2^],  28;  Jer.  51.  32-36. 

The  sea  of  Babylon  mentioned  by  the  prophet  was  the  Eu- 
phrates River.    This  had  been  considered  an  impregnable  part 


3o6  The  Last  MesSxVGe  of  Jesus  Christ 

of  her  defense.  Through  the  great  engineering  feat  of  Cyrus 
it  became  the  occasion  of  her  fall.  Behind  her  high  walls, 
brazen  gates,  and  defensiv.e  waters  she  hurled  her  defiance 
at  the  besieging  armies.  The  great  Elamite  turns  the  course 
of  the  stream  away  from  the  city,  and  her  defense  departs. 
As  the  waters  recede,  in  the  darkness  of  the  night  he  marches 
his  army  in  the  bed  of  the  drying  river,  surprises  the  city, 
captures  it,  and  slays  the  king  in  the  midst  of  his  drunken 
orgies.  The  prophet  Daniel  graphically  describes  the  scene. 
Belshazzar  the  king,  all  unconscious  of  the  receding  waters, 
surrounded  by  his  princes,  lords,  wives,  and  concubines,  is 
holding  high  revel  in  the  city.  The  palace  is  ablaze  with 
light  and  given  over  to  the  abandon  of  the  royal  debauch. 
The  culminating  act  of  their  orgies  is  reached  in  the  insult 
that  is  offered  to  Jehovah  in  the  profaning  of  the  vessels  of 
the  temple  of  God  in  the  drunken  revelry.  While  they  were 
drinking  wine  out  of  them,  and  praising  their  gods  of  gold, 
silver,  brass,  iron,  and  stone  (see  9.  20),  suddenly  there  came 
forth  the  fingers  of  a  man's  hand,  and  wrote  over  against  the 
golden  candlestick  which  Nebuchadnezzar  had  taken  as  a 
trophy  from  the  temple.  Whether  its  lighted  lamps  illuminated 
the  writing  which  was  traced  by  this  mysterious  hand  upon 
the  plaster  of  the  wall  of  the  palace  we  do  not  know ;  but  we 
may  infer  that  the  candlestick  was  brought  there  for  use,  the 
same  as  the  drinking  vessels  were.  It  does  not  detract  from 
the  impressiveness  of  the  scene  to  conceive  that  it  was  by  the 
light  of  the  golden  candlesticks  from  the  temple  of  Jehovah 
that  the  impious  king  saw  the  terrifying  characters  upon  the 
wall.  *'And  the  king  saw  the  part  of  the  hand  that  wrote. 
Then  the  king's  countenance  was  changed,  and  his  thoughts 
troubled  him,  so  that  the  joints  of  his  loins  were  loosed,  and 
his  knees  smote  one  against  another."  The  Chaldeans  and 
the  soothsayers  are  called  in  to  solve  the  meaning  of  the  mys- 
terious characters  upon  the  wall.  The  king  holds  out  the  great 
reward  of  a  scarlet  robe,  a  chain  of  gold,  and  a  position  of 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  307 

power  next  to  himself  in  the  kingdom  to  anyone  who  would 
read  and  interpret  the  terrifying  writing.  But  his  wise  men 
can  only  gaze  in  consternation  at  the  strange  problem  that 
confronts  them  upon  the  wall.  At  last  Daniel,  the  captive 
Hebrew,  is  brought  in,  and  as  the  divinely  commissioned  mes- 
senger of  Jehovah  faces  the  trembling  king. 

He  rehearses  the  story  of  the  divine  visitations  upon  Nebu- 
chadnezzar, and  then,  with  uplifted  finger  pointing  at  the 
quaking  prince,  he  says,  "And  thou,  his  son,  O  Belshazzar, 
hast  not  humbled  thine  heart,  though  thou  knewest  all  this; 
but  hast  lifted  up  thyself  against  the  Lord  of  heaven ;  and  they 
have  brought  the  vessels  of  his  house  before  thee,  and  thou 
and  thy  lords,  thy  wives,  and  thy  concubines,  have  drunk  wine 
in  them ;  and  thou  hast  praised  the  gods  of  silver,  and  gold, 
of  brass,  iron,  wood,  and  stone,  which  see  not,  nor  hear,  nor 
know;  and  the  God  in  whose  hand  thy  breath  is,  and  whose 
are  all  thy  ways,  hast  thou  not  glorified.  Then  was  the  part 
of  the  hand  sent  from  him,  and  this  writing  was  written: 
MENE,  MENE,  TEKEL,*UPHARSIN.  And  this  is  the 
interpretation  of  the  thing:  MENE;  God  hath  numbered  thy 
kingdom,  and  finished  it.  TEKEL;  thou  art  weighed  in  the 
balances,  and  art  found  wanting.  PERES ;  thy  kingdom  is 
divided,  and  given  to  the  Medes  and  Persians."  The  inter- 
pretation is  accepted  by  the  king,  and  the  promised  reward 
is  given.  The  scarlet  robe  is  put  upon  the  prophet,  and  the 
gold  chain  is  hung  about  his  neck,  and  a  proclamation  is  made 
from  the  throne  that  he  shall  be  the  third  ruler  in  the  king- 
dom. What  more  could  the  terrified  king  do  to  atone  for  the 
turpitude  of  the  past,  or  the  sacrilege  of  this  fated  hour  that 
threatens  the  end  of  his  kingdom?  Surely  such  honor  as  he 
now  confers  upon  God's  prophet  will  mollify  his  ofifense  and 
retrieve  the  situation.  But  the  proclamation  was  his  last  offi- 
cial act.  'Tn  that  night  was  Belshazzar  the  king  of  the  Chal- 
deans slain,  and  Darius  the  Median  took  the  kingdom." 

This  great  engineering  feat  of  Cyrus  and  the  consequent 


3o8  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

overthrow  of  the  reveling  prince  thus  become  the  base  of  the 
symbol  of  these  drying  waters  of  this  sixth  vial  which  antici- 
pate the  fated  hour  of  mystic  Babylon.  This  flood  rolled 
before  us  at  the  same  structural  point  under  the  sixth  trumpet 
and  again  in  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  where  we  'see 
these  waters  failing  of  their  Satan-propelled  purpose  as  the 
earth  opens  her  mouth  and  swallows  them  up.  The  waters 
themselves,  as  disclosed  in  chapter  17.  15,  are  the  adverse 
quadrate  of  the  symbolism.  There  we  see  them  not  only 
falling  away  from  Babylon,  but,  as  the  powers  which  once 
supported  her,  now  not  only  falling  away,  but  falling  upon  her, 
tearing  her  flesh  and  burning  her  with  fire.  The  Apocalypse 
therefore  with  studied  purpose  pursues  its  unfolding  plan 
which  continually  keeps  these  kings  of  the  sunrise  before  us 
from  the  moment  when  they  were  first  placed  in  the  sunrise 
and  the  seal  of  the  sunrise  angel  placed  in  their  foreheads. 

The  attention  of  the  reader  is  here  directed  to  another  most 
instructive  instance  of  metamorphosis  which  occurs  in  con- 
nection with  the  amplification  of  these  issues  of  the  fourth 
vial  in  the  Trilogy.  This  light  of  the  sun,  which  becomes 
blinding  and  scorching,  so  that  the  subjects  of  the  beast  gnawed 
their  tongues  for  pain  and  blasphemed  the  God  of  heaven  on 
account  of  their  pains  and  their  sores,  there  transforms  into 
the  radiance  of  an  angel  which,  like  the  sun,  pours  a  flood  of 
glory  over  all  the  earth.  The  figure  there  again  confronts  the 
beast,  but  superimposed  upon  it  is  the  horrifying  figure  of 
Babylon.  This  angel,  as  we  may  see  by  anticipation,  descends 
from  heaven,  having  great  power,  and  the  whole  earth  is  light- 
ened with  his  glory.  And  then,  ere  Babylon's  walls  crash  and 
her  palaces  flame,  these  kings  of  this  glorious  sunrise  occultly 
appear  again,  as  a  voice  from  heaven  calls,  "Come  out  of  her, 
my  people,  that  ye  be  not  a  partaker  of  her  sins,  and  that  ye 
be  not  a  partaker  of  her  plagues.  Reward  her  even  as  she 
rewarded  you,  and  double  unto  her  double  according  to  her 
works."    The  Hebrew  prophets  give  no  uncertain  sound  with 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  3C9 

respect  to  the  meaning  of  this  call.  They  tell  us  that  it  is  the 
voice  of  God  calling  to  the  covenant  people  who  have  been 
scattered  in  the  earth,  and  as  under  the  thrall  of  the  great 
adulteress,  to  come  out  of  her  and  range  themselves  as  a  part 
of  the  retributive  force  which  will  now  be  let  loose  to  whelm 
her. 

The  Structural  Point  of  the  Counterpart 

At  this  point  we  meet  with  a  structural  feature  of  the 
symbolism  that  demands  our  most  careful  attention,  as  it  posi- 
tively determines  the  fact  of  the  dominance  here  of  the 
structural  law  which  governs  the  development  of  these  major 
series. 

Attention  has  been  frequently  directed  to  the  terminal  char- 
acter of  the  sixth  members  of  these  series.  In  each  case  we 
are  brought  into  the  region  of  finalities,  and  then  the  veil  is 
drawn  upon  the  scene  and  a  contrastive  section  is  introduced 
which  is  here  understood  to  be  of  the  same  scope  as  the  series 
of  which  it  is  an  inclusion.  The  seventh  seal  and  trumpet 
clearly  find  their  amplification  in  a  full  series.  This  structural 
law  holds  with  respect  to  the  vials,  but  instead  of  giving  us 
the  final  counterpart  at  this  point  its  lines  are  projected  with 
the  phase  of  symbol  reversed.  That  of  the  bright  side  will 
await  the  culmination  of  the  issues  of  the  Trilogy.  The  reader 
will  note  another  confirmation  here  with  respect  to  the  numeric 
principle  which  governs  in  the  development  of  this  paren- 
thetic section  of  these  several  series.  It  shows  that  it  is  un- 
questionably that  of  the  triad,  though  in  each  case,  as  it  has 
already  been  noted,  there  are  clearly  discoverable  elements 
which  at  least  bear  the  reflex  of  a  full  seven. 

The  Contrastive  Utterance 

(i)  The  Going  Forth  of  the  Antitrinitarian  Forces 

"And  I  saw  three  unclean  spirits  like  frogs  come  out  of 

(i)  the  mouth  of  the  dragon,  and  (2)  out  of  the  mouth  of 

the  beast,  and  (3)  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  false  prophet.    For 


3IO  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

they  are  the  spirits  of  devils,  working  miracles,  which  go  forth 
unto  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  of  the  whole  world,  to  gather 
them  to  the  battle  of  that  great  day  of  God  Almighty." 

(2)  The  Saints  Warned  of  Christ's  Coming 
"(i)   Behold,  I  come  as  a  thief.     (2)   Blessed  is  he  that 
watcheth,  and  keepeth  his  garments,  (3)  lest  he  walk  naked, 
and  they  see  his  shame." 

(3)  The  Final  Great  Field  of  Battle — Armageddon 

"And  he  gathered  them  together  into  a  place  called  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue,  Armageddon." 

The  studious  reader  has  doubtless  been  convinced  of  the 
fact  that  structural  coincidence  has  been  shown  to  hold  be- 
tween the  lines  of  the  trumpets  and  vials  up  to  the  end  of  the 
sixth  utterance  in  each  case.  If  he  will  now  carefully  compare 
the  content  of  the  first  paragraph  of  this  parenthetic  section 
he  will  hardly  fail  of  discerning  the  fact  that  it  squares  exactly 
with  the  characteristic  deployment  of  the  figures  of  the  anti- 
trinity  as  they  appear  in  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany, 
which  amplifies  that  of  the  seventh  trumpet.  With  this  fact 
of  correlation  so  clearly  marked  with  respect  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  adverse  figures  of  this  subseries  it  becomes  evident 
that  in  the  introduction  of  the  chief  figure  of  the  bright  side 
of  the  panorama  we  as  clearly  are  compelled  to  recognize  cor- 
relation with  the  contrastive  scene  of  Mount  Zion,  while 
Armageddon  is  again  shown  to  square  with  earth's  reaping 
and  vintage. 

But  as  this  section  is  parenthetic,  by  virtue  of  its  structural 
position,  it  may  be  intended  to  square  with  the  features  of  the 
third  Contrastive  Counterpart,  as  showing  the  coincidence  of 
its  scope  with  that  of  the  adverse  side  of  the  book. 

Here  we  see  the  going  forth  of  the  angel  with  the  everlast- 
ing gospel  to  preach  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth.  He  is 
followed  by  two  like  heralds,  each  with  his  own  special  mission 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  311 

or  voicing.  The  antithesis  here  rises  before  us  in  the  going 
forth  of  these  devil-spirits  from  the  mouths  of  the  anti-three, 
with  their  miracle-working  propaganda  in  opposition.  If  this 
be  recognized  as  the  correlate  intent,  then  the  judgment  warn- 
ing that  next  follows  falls  within  the  lines  of  what  is  unques- 
tionably the  region  of  finalities;  a  fact  which  lifts  the  symbol 
of  the  great  Armageddon  to  view  in  connection  with  these 
terminal  reaping  and  vintage  scenes  of  the  book  of  the  Pneu- 
matophany.  These  devil-spirits  which  leap  from  the  mouths 
of  the  anti-three,  as  the  sharp  sword  issues  from  the  lips  of 
the  Christophanic  figure,  go  forth  to  the  kings  of  the  earth 
and  the  whole  world  to  gather  them  to  the  one  great  battle 
of  the  day  of  God  Almighty.  It  has  been  frequently  noted 
how  each  succeeding  series  has  traversed  the  entire  apocalyptic 
field  from  its  own  standpoint,  bringing  us  within  the  thunder 
of  the  great  Waterloo  and  then  ringing  down  the  curtain  with- 
out our  being  given  to  see  the  charge  of  a  single  legion  or 
the  glint  of  a  spear.  The  governing  office  of  the  structural 
lines  which  have  so  advanced  in  their  cumulative  power  are 
surely  clear  enough  at  this  point  to  determine  the  fact  that 
Armageddon  itself,  in  amplification,  lies  yet  onward  within  the 
great  climacteric  series  of  the  book,  which  is  that  of  the  seventh 
vial  and  its  sequent  Trilogy. 

The  sixth  seal  begins  with  the  great  earthquake,  and  as  it 
proceeds  touches  what  are  clearly  determined  to  be  the  great 
generics  of  the  gospel  age,  in  darkened  sun,  falling  stars,  and 
vanishing  material  frame,  and  a  guilty  world  more  terrified 
at  the  unveiled  presence  of  the  throne  of  God  than  they  are 
at  the  crash  of  matter  and  the  wreck  of  worlds.  When  it  is 
seen  that  this  contrastive  section  under  consideration  is  of 
the  same  universal  scope  as  this  sixth  seal  shafts  of  light  will 
also  be  seen  shooting  forth  from  it  into  the  sections  of  the 
coming  Trilogy.  While  it  is  possible  to  conceive  of  the  going 
forth  of  these  frog-spirits  as  in  the  order  of  undetermined 
sequence,  yet  the  identity  of  their  office  or  concert  of  action 


312  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

is  clearly  postulated  in  the  fact  that  their  deceiving  the  whole 
world  by  the  lying  miracles  which  they  have  power  to  perform 
is  the  connecting  link  which  shows  that  the  thralling  of  the 
whole  earth  by  the  two-horned  beast  is  but  another  phase  of 
the  loosing  of  Satan  in  the  earth  for  a  little  season,  the  culmi- 
nation of  which  will  be  given  in  the  third  section  of  the  Trilogy. 
With  respect  to  these  frog-spirits,  which  go  forth  from  the 
mouths  of  the  infernal  three  upon  this  universal  propaganda, 
it  may  be  safely  said  that  such  a  mission  is  too  vast  to  be 
dwarfed  into  a  mere  episode  occurring  somewhere  at  the  end 
of  time.  It  simply  summarizes  the  features  of  the  counter- 
activity  of  the  infernal  trinity,  as  against  that  of  the  Holy 
Trinity,  the  results  of  which  are  the  great  world  conflict  of 
Armageddon. 

The  only  mention  of  the  frog  in  the  Scriptures  previous 
to  this  instance  is  in  connection  with  the  plagues  of  Egypt. 
This  fact,  in  harmony  with  the  recognized  method  of  this 
book,  cites  us  back  to  Exodus  for  the  lesson  which  the  symbol 
contains : 

*'And  the  river  shall  bring  forth  frogs  abundantly,  which 
shall  go  up  and  come  into  thy  house,  and  into  thy  bedchamber, 
and  upon  thy  bed,  and  into  the  house  of  thy  servants,  and 
upon  thy  people,  and  into  thine  ovens,  and  into  thy  kneading- 
troughs.  And  the  frogs  shall  come  up  both  on  thee,  and  upon 
thy  people,  and  upon  all  thy  servants"  (Exod.  8.  3,  4). 

Back  of  the  literal  Nile  is  the  mystic  Euphrates.  The  appo- 
siteness  of  the  symbol  is  certainly  striking,  as  it  is  here  given 
this  mystic  setting.  The  universality,  insinuating  persistence, 
and  lying  wonders  of  this  infernal  propaganda  could  hardly 
have  had  a  more  apt  characterization.  They  take  the  field  here 
as  against  the  visualized  issues  of  redemptive  truth.  Each 
emerging  frog,  in  succession  scenically,  but  really  in  concerted 
action,  antagonizes  the  personality  and  office  disclosed  with 
respect  to  the  Deity,  (i)  The  dragonic  spirit  arrays  itself  as 
against  the  figure  central  in  the  Theophany.     Its  aim  is  to 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  313 

substitute  a  falsity  in  the  place  of  throned  Omnipotence,  rule 
God  out  of  his  universe,  and  assume  his  divine  prerogatives. 
It  is  this  devil-spirit  which  has  filled  the  world  with  poly- 
theism and  vitalizes  the  philosophy  of  atheistic  paganism  and 
all  forms  of  modern  agnostic  misbelief.  (2) The  frog  that  leaps 
from  the  mouth  of  the  beast — the  marine  therion — in  an  espe- 
cial manner  arrays  itself  against  the  eternal  Son.  It  disputes 
his  divinity  and  divine  right  to  rule  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world.  It  is  shown  in  this  body  of  mysticism  as  usurping  his 
regal  dignity,  wearing  the  diadems  which  belong  to  him,  and 
as  thralling  the  earth  with  a  blasphemous  despotism.  (3)  The 
spirit  of  the  false  prophet  sets  himself  to  antagonize  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  is  responsible  in  the  aggregate  for  all  the  spiritual 
diabolism  that  has  ever  been  croaked  forth  from  the  marshes 
of  the  great  Euphrates. 

The  results  of  this  great  world-wide  propaganda,  as  here 
given,  culminate  in  the  one  ''battle  of  that  great  day  of  God 
Almighty."  Here  again  there  is  the  rim  of  the  great  Arma- 
geddon, and  then  the  curtain  falls. 

We  now  pass  to  the  bright  side  of  the  panorama,  and  its 
most  important  antithetic  feature  is  introduced — that  of  the 
unlooked-for  coming  of  Christ.  The  reader  will  note  the  fact 
that  the  judgment  warning  here  given  is  reminiscent  of  those 
given  in  the  course  of  the  epistles,  an  intimation  that  the  issues 
there  characterized  must  be  conceived  as  being  occultly  present 
in  the  scope  of  the  characterization  now  before  us.  See  Matt. 
24.  42,  43;  Luke  12.  36-40;  21.  35;  2  Pet.  3.  10-13.  The  last 
passage  is  most  important: 

''But  the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night ; 
in  the  which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise, 
and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  the  earth  also 
and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be  burnt  up.  Seeing  then 
that  all  these  things  shall  be  dissolved,  what  manner  of  persons 
ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness,  looking 
for  and  hasting  unto  the  coming  of  the  day  of  God,  wherein 


314  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  heavens  being  on  fire  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  elements 
shall  melt  with  fervent  heat?  Nevertheless  we,  according  to 
his  promise,  look  for  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein 
dwelleth  righteousness." 

The  commentary  that  is  here  furnished  by  Peter  upon  this 
apocalyptic  statement  concerning  the  coming  of  the  great  day 
is  most  important.  It  puts  up  an  invulnerable  buttress  against 
the  conception  that  ramifies  the  popular  teaching  upon  this 
subject,  that  there  are  three  great  days  of  God  Almighty  and 
three  comings  of  Christ. 

The  third  and  concluding  statement  of  this  contrastive  sec- 
tion simply  presents  the  picture  of  all  the  world  as  gathered 
together  upon  this  great  field  of  the  mystic  Armageddon. 
The  Revised  Version  changes  the  pronoun  here,  and  thus  con- 
sistently credits  this  great  universal  gathering  to  the  concerted 
action  of  these  devil-spirits  which  went  forth  with  this  recog- 
nized purpose.  Names,  as  has  been  repeatedly  observed,  have 
a  profound  significance  in  this  body  of  mystic  truth.  The 
name  here  introduced  tells  us  that  the  great  battle  of  world- 
destiny  is  fought  upon  a  Hebrew  battlefield.  The  Trilogy  will 
further  elucidate  this  statement  by  its  affirmation  that  it  is 
simply  the  great  battle  so  graphically  depicted  in  the  prophecy 
of  Ezekiel,  thus  referring  us  to  him  for  particulars.  The  deri- 
vation of  the  name,  as  worked  out  by  the  scholars,  is  that  "Ar" 
is  the  Hebrew  "Har"  transliterated  into  Greek,  and  means 
"mountain."  "Mageddon"  is  the  Greek  form  of  "Megiddo," 
the  name  of  the  great  plain  in  Palestine  first  made  memorable 
by  the  defeat  of  the  hosts  of  Sisera  at  the  hands  of  the  militant 
prophetess  of  Israel,  and  which  she  celebrates  in  her  trium- 
phant song  (Judg.  5.  19-21). 

This  field  thence  became  traditionally  glorious  as  the  scene 
of  this  great  victory  which  was  gained  by  the  fact  that  "the 
stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera"  for  the  deliverance 
of  downtrodden  Israel.  Hosea  calls  this  day  the  great  day  of 
Jezreel,  when  kingless  Israel  and  Judah  shall  be  gathered  to- 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  315 

gether  out  of  the  earth  and  shall  appoint  them  one  head — 
the  mystic  David — under  whose  glorious  reign  the  turpitude 
of  the  past  shall  be  fully  redeemed.  The  prophet  Joel  calls  it 
"the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat"  (Jehovah- judged),  otherwise  ''the 
valley  of  decision,"  where  the  vast  multitudes  of  the  heathen 
world,  united  against  the  covenant  people,  will  be  defeated  by 
a  signal  display  of  the  power  of  God  in  their  behalf. 

This  celebrated  passage  in  Joel  (2.  30-32;  3.  i,  2,  9-17)  is 
certified  by  Peter,  in  his  pentecostal  sermon,  as  referring  to 
the  issues  of  the  gospel  day.  It  is  therefore  a  prophetic  utter- 
ance that  is  thus  made  worthy  of  the  most  careful  study  in 
connection  with  this  great  apocalyptic  day  of  the  divine  wrath. 
The  prophet  says : 

*'And  I  will  show  wonders  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth 
blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  of  smoke.  And  the  sun  shall  be 
turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,  before  the  great 
and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord  come.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
delivered :  for  in  Mount  Zion  and  in  Jerusalem  shall  be  deliv- 
erance, as  the  Lord  hath  said,  and  in  the  remnant  whom  the 
Lord  shall  call.  For,  behold,  in  those  days,  and  in  that  time, 
when  I  shall  bring  again  the  captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 
I  will  gather  all  nations,  and  will  bring  them  down  into  the 
valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  and  will  plead  with  them  there  for  my 
people,  and  for  my  heritage  Israel,  whom  they  have  scattered 
among  the  nations,  and  parted  my  land.  .  .  .  Proclaim  ye  this 
among  the  Gentiles ;  Prepare  war,  wake  up  the  mighty  men, 
let  all  the  men  of  war  draw  near;  let  them  come  up:  Beat 
your  plowshares  into  swords,  and  your  pruning  hooks  Into 
spears.  Let  the  weak  say,  I  am  strong.  Assemble  yourselves, 
and  come,  all  ye  heathen,  and  gather  yourselves  together  round 
about :  thither  cause  thy  mighty  ones  to  come  down,  O  Lord. 
Let  the  heathen  be  wakened,  and  come  up  to  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat:  for  there  will  I  sit  to  judge  all  the  heathen  round 
about.     Put  ye  In  the  sickle:  for  the  harvest  is  ripe:  come, 


3i6  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

get  you  down ;  for  the  press  is  full,  the  fats  overflow ;  for  their 
wickedness  is  great.  Multitudes,  multitudes,  in  the  valley  of 
decision:  for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near  in  the  valley  of 
decision.  The  sun  and  the  moon  shall  be  darkened,  and  the 
stars  shall  withdraw  their  shining.  The  Lord  also  shall  roar 
out  of  Zion,  and  utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem;  and  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  shall  shake,  but  the  Lord  will  be  the 
hope  of  his  people,  and  the  strength  of  the  children  of  Israel. 
So  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God  dwelling  in 
Zion,  my  holy  mountain;  then  shall  Jerusalem  be  holy,  and 
there  shall  no  strangers  pass  through  her  any  more." 

While  it  might  appear  rash  to  affirm  that  there  is  hardly 
a  passage  anywhere  within  the  scope  of  prophecy  that  contains 
so  much  that  enters  the  plasm  of  the  Apocalypse,  yet  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  this  transcript  from  Joel  cannot  be  considered  as 
apart  from  the  apocalyptic  setting  that  is  here  given  to  it 
in  characterization  of  these  retributive  finalities.  Again, 
when  we  find  that  the  whole  mighty  sweep  of  the  vision 
of  Ezekiel,  from  the  strange  cherubic  creatures  which  per- 
plex us  in  the  headlands  of  his  prophecy  on  to  the  apoc- 
alyptic cloudlands  of  its  close,  the  central  figure  of  which  is 
Israel  rejected  of  God  and  scattered  throughout  the  whole 
earth,  and  then  at  last  rising  as  from  a  great  death  valley 
and  ranging  themselves  under  the  promised  eternal  throne  of 
David  for  a  terrific  battle,  which  places  in  their  hands  the 
.  scepter  of  the  whole  earth  in  the  presence  of  the  opening  gates 
of  a  glorious  eternity,  thus  everywhere  seen  as  flashing  through 
the  entire  body  of  this  mighty  vision  of  John,  it  certainly  in- 
troduces the  question  of  the  inviolability  of  the  ancient  cov- 
enants of  Jehovah  In  a  way  that  the  candid  expositor  finds 
himself  compelled  to  consider,  if  he  would  present  a  work 
that  is  worthy  of  serious  consideration.  If  the  reader  will 
but  go  over  again  In  this  connection  such  chapters  as  Isa. 
49  and  63,  Jer.  31  and  33,  he  will  see  everywhere  looming 
before  him  the  lines  of  this  one  great  battle,  which  the  Apoc- 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  317 

alypse  presents   from   the   diverse   standpoints   of   right   and 
left  flanks  and  center. 

Whatever  may  be  our  views  with  respect  to  this  voUiminous 
body  of  Old  Testament  prophecy  relative  to  the  future  of  the 
covenant  people,  one  fact  must  be  admitted  as  standing-  out  in 
the  clear :  the  great  struggle  which  is  now  going  forward  in  the 
earth  is  being  fought  upon  a  Hebrew  battlefield.  Christ,  the 
great  Hebrew  leader,  who  claims  the  whole  world  for  his 
kingdom,  is  face  to  face  with  the  panoplied  powers  of  the  old 
heathenism,  which  has  thralled  humanity  throughout  the  ages 
and  which  is  being  roused  with  a  sense  of  impending  danger. 
Hoary  superstitions,  strongly  intrenched  diabolism  among  the 
heathen  nations,  are  to-day  being  brought  face  to  face  with 
the  thunders  of  Sinai  and  the  demands  of  the  cross.  The  ter- 
rible enginery  of  destruction,  developed  or  invented  by  our 
modem  civilization,  is  rapidly  being  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  heathen  nations,  far  more  rapidly  than  are  the  enlighten- 
ing principles  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  economic  condition 
of  the  world,  the  outgrowth  of  ages  of  oppression,  appalls 
die  statesman  as  he  contemplates  it.  Strongly  fortified  sys- 
tems of  wrong  are  threatening  the  disintegration  of  our  social 
as  well  as  political  fabric.  The  Nemesis  of  the  ages  rises 
before  us  as  the  threatening  ghost  of  our  delinquent  past, 
which  all  our  armies  and  navies  may  at  last  vainly  attempt 
to  lay.  Thus  the  physical  forces  of  the  world  unite  with  the 
moral  and  spiritual  and  proclaim  the  reality  of  the  great  Arma- 
geddon, which  may  be  just  as  terrific  and  bloody  as  it  has 
been  portrayed  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  Word  of  God. 
We  pass  now  from  the  lines  of  this  parenthetic  section  to  the 
discharge  of  the  last  of  these  retributive  vials. 

The  Seventh  Vial  Poured  into  the  Air 
"And  the  seventh  angel  poured  out  his  vial  into  the  air,  and 
there  came  a  great  voice  out  of  the  temple  of  heaven,  from 
the  throne,  saying,  It  is  done." 


3i8  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Here  again  attention  must  be  called  to  the  fact  of  the  rigidity 
of  the  structural  law  that  governs  the  development  of  these 
unfolding  series.  This  retributive  series  of  the  vials,  as  has 
been  shown,  takes  us  back  to  the  headlands  of  the  trumpets. 
Let  the  lines  of  these  two  series  be  carefully  compared  from 
this  point,  and  it  will  appear  that  every  paragraph  of  the  one 
series  has  been  placed  in  position  under  the  same  structural 
law,  in  a  manner  which  positively  rules  out  the  idea  of  his- 
toric succession.  For  instance,  the  quadrate  of  the  trumpets 
and  vials  has  been  shown  to  touch  the  same  points;  that  the 
triad  also  does  is,  as  I  think,  also  a  demonstration.  After  the 
sixth  trumpet  we  have  the  contrastive  section  that  presents  the 
Pneumatophany,  the  temple,  and  the  two  witnesses.  After  the 
sixth  vial  we  have  this  same  structural  feature  in  the  section 
just  passed  under  review.  After  the  seventh  trumpet  we  have 
the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  with  its  finality  in  the  con- 
trastive scene  of  Mount  Sion.  After  the  seventh  vial  we  have 
the  Retributive  Trilogy  and  the  terminal  scene  of  the  New 
Jerusalem.  While  it  is  hardly  possible  to  exhibit  the  marvel- 
ous correlation  that  may  be  clearly  discoverable  here,  yet  the 
outline  will  be  valuable  as  an  aid  to  the  study. 

The  Structural  Coincidence  to  be  Noted  between  the 

Trumpets  and  the  Vials 
(i)  The  Six  Trumpets.  (i)  The  Six  Vials. 

(2)  The  Contrastive  Section.        (2)  The  Contrastive  Section. 

(3)  The  Seventh  Trumpet.  (3)  The  Seventh  Vial. 

(4)  The  Book  of  the  Pneuma-      (4)  The  Retributive  Trilogy. 

tophany. 

(a)  Woman.  (a)  Woman. 

(b)  Dragon  Balked.  (b)  Beast  and  False  Prophet. 

(c)  Dragon  Loosed.  (c)  Dragon  Loosed. 

(d)  Beast  and  False  Prophet.  (d)  Retributive  Finalities. 

(e)  Final  Contrastive  Section.  (e)  Final  Contrastive  Section. 

One  of  the  notable  consistencies  which  develops  in  connec- 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  319 

tion  with  this  vial  series  is  that  of  the  objective  point  of  the 
discharge  of  the  seventh  vial.  There  is  no  suggestion  of  topo- 
graphical adjustment  in  the  blast  of  the  seventh  trumpet.  This 
point  clearly  appears  in  the  amplifications  which  follow  in  the 
book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  which  presents  the  dragonic  sym- 
bolism. Hence,  in  this  pouring  out  of  the  seventh  vial  into  the 
air,  commentators  have  understood  that  the  objective  point  was 
the  realm  of  Satan,  based  in  the  fact  that  he  is  recognized  in 
Scripture  as  ''the  prince  of  the  powers  of  the  air."  Though 
this  might  be  recognized  as  pertinent,  yet  it  is  unnecessary. 
The  aim  of  the  vial  is  at  the  personality  of  Satan  himself,  under 
the  symbol  of  the  Four  Winds,  which  at  the  headlands  of  the 
first  contrastive  section  are  placed  in  ward  of  the  four  restrain- 
ing angels. 

As  this  last  vial  is  thus  discharged  no  immediate  action 
follows.  Conceptually  the  whole  of  the  Retributive  Trilogy 
is  finished  in  its  fiery  discharge  upon  this  one  point  of  the  great 
panorama.  The  voice  out  of  the  temple,  from  the  throne, 
asserts  that  retribution  is  now  complete.  It  is  done,  and  justice 
is  fully  satisfied.  The  end  has  come,  and  the  panorama  halts. 
But  it  halts  only  that  it  may  readjust  its  staging  for  the  ampli- 
fication of  the  whole  of  this  vial  scene  in  the  whelming  con- 
ceptions which  are  awaiting  us  in  the  development  of  the  final 
great  section  of  the  book. 

The  great  quadrate  which  rises  to  view  in  the  book  of  the 
Pneumatophany  is  before  us  again  in  the  corresponding  struc- 
tural section  of  the  Trilogy.  Every  symbol  now  presented  is 
simply  whelming,  but  there  is  none  more  startling  than  that  of 
the  woman  who  suddenly  visualizes  the  mystery  of  the  golden 
candlesticks. 

The  Retributive  Trilogy 
A  Trilogy  in  Greek  literature  consists  of  a  group  of  three 
tragedies,  either  connected  by  a  common  subject  or  each  rep- 
resenting a  distinct  story.    A  satyric  drama  was  usually  added 


320  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

as  its  termination.  While  it  is  not  consistent  with  the  character 
of  the  Apocalypse  to  conceive  of  it  as  introducing  a  phase  of 
the  Greek  drama,  yet  the  word  may  be  legitimately  employed 
in  a  characteristic  sense.  This  Trilogy  of  the  Apocalypse  is 
governed  by  the  principles  developed  in  the  book,  and  is  the 
logical  resultant  of  the  antecedent  periods.  The  three  persons 
of  the  Godhead  have  in  succession  been  associated  with  the 
three  leading  divisions  of  the  panorama,  in  which  all  the  forces 
of  the  great  drama  are  introduced  into  the  field.  The  Trilogy 
now  simply  presents  the  three  phases  of  the  one  great  battle 
in  which  the  Persons  of  the  Holy  Trinity  are  disclosed  as  tri- 
umphing over  their  malign  antagonists.  In  the  first  section 
it  is  the  angel  of  the  Pneumatophany,  whose  glory  fills  the 
whole  earth.  In  the  second,  it  is  the  multi-diademed  Chris- 
tophanic  figure.  In  the  third,  fire  falling  from  the  throne  of 
the  Theophany  ends  the  career  of  the  great  antagonist  forever. 

The  Trilogy  is  introduced  by  one  of  the  most  important  of 
all  the  exponential  paragraphs  to  be  found  in  the  book.  It  is 
that  of  the  fourth  and  final  concerted  utterance  of  the  Throne 
Voicings.  It  will  be  observed  that  they  stand  at  the  head  of 
the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  and  as  following  the  seventh 
trumpet,  exactly  as  they  do  here  at  the  head  of  the  Trilogy  and 
sequent  to  the  seventh  vial,  save  that  two  new  factors  are  placed 
between  those  of  the  great  earthquake  and  the  great  hail ;  thus 
giving  us  the  culmination  of  an  exponential  seven. 

Fourth  and  Final  Utterance  of  the  Throne  Voicings 
"And  there  were  (i)  lightnings,  and  (2)  voices,  and  (3) 
thunders,  and  there  was  a  (4)  great  earthquake,  such  as  was 
not  since  men  were  upon  the  earth,  so  mighty  an  earthquake, 
and  so  great. 

"(5)  (i)  And  the  great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts, 
(2)  And  the  cities  of  the  nations  [Gentiles]  fell.  (3)  And 
great  Babylon  came  into  remembrance  before  God,  to  give 
unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  321 

"(6)  And  every  island  Ued  away,  and  the  mountains  were 
not  found. 

"(7)  And  there  fell  upon  men  a  great  hail  out  of  heaven, 
every  stone  about  the  weight  of  a  talent :  and  men  blasphemed 
God  because  of  the  plague  of  the  hail ;  for  the  plague  thereof 
was  exceeding  great." 

The  Trilogy,  as  squared  upon  the  lines  of  the  book  of  the 
Pneumatophany,  will  in  the  main  hold  to  its  structural  form, 
though  its  sections  will  be  amplified  at  greater  length.  While 
the  exponential  significance  of  the  governing  throne  voicings 
can  hardly  be  misapprehended,  yet  special  attention  must  be 
directed  to  the  fact  that  it  is  with  the  two  additional  paragraphs 
that  the  Trilogy  is  chiefly  concerned:  the  Great  City  and  the 
Dissolution  of  the  Material  Frame. 

Amplification  begins  with  this  great  city  which,  as  sequent 
to  the  great  earthquake,  (i)  divides  into  three  parts,  (2)  the 
cities  of  the  nations  fall,  and  (3)  the  cup  of  the  divine  wrath 
is  poured  on  great  Babylon.  The  mastery  of  the  significance 
of  these  three  exponential  points  will  send  a  brilliant  flash  of 
light  into  the  chaos  which  from  time  immemorial  has  involved 
these  three  great  terminal  sections  of  the  Apocalypse. 

The  consecutive  expansion  of  this  great  divisional  exponen- 
tial voicing  of  the  book,  from  its  trinitarian  inception  in  the 
throne  of  the  Theophany  until  it  here  completes  its  additional 
quadrate  expression,  presents  the  guide-marks  for  the  mastery 
of  the  unfolding  panorama.  The  great  generics  of  the  book 
are  here  given  commanding  position,  and  as  in  their  consecu- 
tive order  of  development.  In  each  case  the  additional  factors 
in  the  exponential  headlands  determine  the  character  of  the 
symbolism  which  follows.  The  method  of  development  of  this 
exponential  hieroglyph  is  instructive.  The  triad  of  lightning, 
voices,  and  thunders  issues  direct  from  the  throne.  The  antag- 
onistic action  is  put  forth  as  a  mighty  convulsion  of  the  under- 
world.   This  great  earthquake,  which  first  appears  as  in  the 


322  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

panorama,  next  appears  as  the  additional  factor  of  this  expo- 
nential voicing  at  the  head  of  the  trumpets.  At  the  blast  of 
the  first  trumpet  we  behold  the  descent  of  the  hail  and  fire, 
mingled  with  blood.  At  the  head  of  the  next  division — the  book 
of  the  Pneumatophany — this  hail  symbol  is,  in  like  manner, 
placed  next  the  earthquake  as  the  terminal  exponent  of  this 
paragraphic  grouping.  Now  if  we  return  to  this  imagery  of  the 
sixth  seal  we  will  discover  that  these  two  additional  factors 
are  present  there  in  the  same  structural  position  as  here,  the 
paragraph  which  refers  to  the  dissolution  of  nature  clearly  so, 
which  gives  the  suggestion  that  the  three  paragraphs  which  lie 
between  it  and  the  great  earthquake  are  simply  a  metamor- 
phosis of  the  factors  which  here  relate  to  the  great  city.  Let 
these  facts  be  clearly  fixed  in  mind.  After  the  great  earthquake 
in  the  sixth  seal  we  have  this  statement:  ''(i)  And  the  sun 
became  black  as  sackcloth  of  hair,  (2)  and  the  moon  became 
as  blood;  and  (3)  the  stars  of  heaven  fell  unto  the  earth,  even 
as  a  fig  tree  casteth  her  untimely  figs,  when  she  is  shaken  of  a 
mighty  wind." 

Following  this  triad  we  have  the  same  conception  which  en- 
ters this  second  additional  paragraph  of  the  exponential  section 
under  review.  It  is  almost  in  the  same  words :  ''And  the  heaven 
departed  as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled  together ;  and  every  moun- 
tain and  island  were  moved  out  of  their  places."  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  correlate  significance  of  the  two 
remaining  paragraphs — that  of  the  seal  and  this  of  the  great 
hail.  The  alert  reader  may  be  trusted  to  trace  the  convergence 
of  the  lines  which  are  so  clearly  shown  as  connecting  this  great 
day  of  the  wrath  of  God  and  the  Lamb  with  the  issues  which 
are  here  presented  in  the  Trilogy  under  the  figure  of  the  Judg- 
ment symbol.  As  we  now  return  to  this  first  additional  para- 
graph of  this  exponential  section  we  find  that  its  office  becomes 
strikingly  clear.  As  a  unit  of  this  exponential  seven  it  tells  us 
that  there  is  but  one  great  battle  of  the  day  of  Almighty  God. 
In  its  trine  paragraphic  division  it  as  plainly  tells  us  that  the 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  323 

issues  of  this  one  great  struggle  will  receive  trine  amplification. 
This  fact  immediately  suggests  the  three  great  sections  of  the 
Trilogy.  There  can  be  no  question  of  the  correctness  of  this 
conclusion;  but  the  manner  in  which  these  three  sections  are 
made  to  govern  the  Trilogy  presents  whelming  proof,  to  one 
who  has  mastered  the  apocalyptic  method,  that  they  are  to  be 
conceived  as  an  inclusion  of  the  Babylonian  symbolism.  For, 
after  presenting  these  three  diverse  voicings,  which  end  with 
the  pouring  of  the  wrath  of  God  upon  great  Babylon,  the  next 
point  touched  by  the  following  additional  exponent  is  not  rele- 
vant either  to  the  triumph  of  the  Lamb  at  the  head  of  the  white- 
robed  armies  or  of  the  throned  Eternal  in  the  whelming  of 
Satan.  These  two  sections  are  passed  without  exponent  unless 
we  conceive  them  as  included  in  the  Babylonian  paragraphic 
divisions.  The  next  scene  presents  the  great  white  throne  and 
the  vanishing  material  frame. 

Sequent  to  the  great  seismic  convulsion  the  ''great  city  was 
divided  into  three  parts."  At  the  close  of  the  introductory 
section  next  to  follow  it  will  be  disclosed  that  this  great  city  is 
Babylon,  "which  reigneth  over  the  kings  of  the  earth*'  (17.  18). 
The  three  sections  relative  to  this  city  introduce  it,  first,  as 
the  Great  Harlot,  drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  saints;  second, 
as  confronted  by  an  angel  having  great  power,  whose  glory 
lightened  the  earth  and  who  in  sublime  threnody  pronounces 
her  doom ;  third,  her  final  whelming  at  the  hands  of  a  mighty 
Angel  executive.  The  first  phase  presents  the  great  mystery 
and  its  mystic  solution ;  the  second  in  its  exponent  touches  its 
political  phase,  and  the  third  its  ecclesiastical.  The  wine  of  the 
wrath  of  God  is  poured  out  upon  those  who  worship  the  beast 
and  wear  his  mark.  It  is  said  of  these,  as  of  great  Babylon, 
that  "the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  forever  and 
ever"  (14.  9-11).  The  great  city  is  therefore  composed  of 
devil,  beast,  and  harlot.  Its  sublime  antithesis  will  follow  in  a 
manner  which  will  be  shown  to  strikingly  confirm  the  position 
here  taken  with  respect  to  this  great  city.     Its  three  phases 


324  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

are  a  unit  in  the  same  sense  as  the  three  phases  of  the  celestial 
city  are  also  a  unit,  as  will  appear  in  the  amplification  of  the 
sections  to  follow. 

We  may  now  pass  to  the  amplification  of  these  three  expo- 
nential paragraphs  which  deal  with  the  great  monster  of  iniq- 
uity. We  will  find  that  Babylon  alone  is  dealt  with,  the  beast 
and  the  dragon  not  being  even  remotely  referred  to  in  these 
exponential  voicings ;  though  in  the  amplification  to  follow  the 
beast  is  disclosed  as  the  associate  of  the  harlot  throughout  the 
entire  section.  Beyond  the  point  where  the  wine  of  the  wrath 
of  God  is  poured  upon  this  great  aggregation  of  iniquity  the 
next  voicing  shows  the  vanishing  heavens. 

The  Great  Mystery  in  Scarlet 
In  our  study  of  the  whelming  figure  and  scenic  grandeur  of 
this  final  division  of  the  Apocalypse  we  must  ever  keep  in  sight 
of  the  governing  headlands  that  have  been  placed  in  exponential 
position.  The  Trilogy  is  the  amplification  of  the  final  vial  dis- 
charge upon  the  person  and  into  the  realm  of  Satan.  The  gov- 
erning sense  of  the  throne  voicings  is  that  the  subject-matter  of 
the  series  will  be  broken  into  the  usual  sevenfold  system  of  group- 
ing, though  the  additional  and  emphatic  features  recognized  in 
the  voicing  will  present  the  factors  which  will  be  the  subjects 
of  the  specific  amplification.  Here  the  greatest  care  is  called 
for,  that  we  may  not  mistake  the  lines  of  transition.  The  fol- 
lowing resume  may  serve  to  blaze  our  pathway  through  the 
maze  of  the  symbolism  that  will  now  be  thrown  upon  the  screen : 

Analytic  Outline  of  the  Trilogy 

THE  quadrate 

(i)  The  Great  Scarlet  Mystery. 

(2)   She  is  Confronted  by  the  Angel  of  the  Pneuma- 
tophany. 
He  pronounces  her  doom  in  the  light  of  a  glory  that  radiates 
from  his  person  and  illumines  the  whole  earth.    He  is  supported 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  325 

by  a  voice  from  the  throne  of  the  Theophany  which  pronounces 
the  subhme  threnody  of  doom. 

(3)  Scenic  Display  of  the  Wrath  of  the  Lamb. 

A  mighty  executive  angel  symboHcally  hurls  great  Babylon 
to  destruction  as  the  casting  of  a  great  millstone  into  the  sea. 
He  also  adds  in  concert  with  his  action  the  final  words  relative 
to  her  awful  doom.  Each  Person  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is  thus 
shown  as  in  the  relations  of  his  office^  and  as  characteristically 
participating  in  the  final  destruction  of  the  great  whore. 

(4)  The  Marriage  of  the  Lamb — A  Prelude. 

The  fact  that  the  final  number  of  this  quadrate  presents  the 
Marriage  of  the  Lamb  should  be  sufficient  to  settle  the  question 
as  to  the  all-inclusive  character  of  the  Babylonian  section  of 
the  Trilogy.  To  fully  certify  this  fact  a  most  significant  punc- 
tuation point  is  inserted,  and  repeated  at  the  same  structural 
point  in  the  triad,  to  show  that  all  that  lies  between  must  be 
understood  as  an  inclusion  of  the  Babylonian  section.  The 
demonstration  that  is  here  made  by  the  structural  law  of  the 
symbolism  is  simply  whelming.  This  punctuation  which  ends 
this  quadrate  is  in  the  episode  of  the  apocalyptist  falling  at  the 
feet  of  the  golden-girdled  angel  in  worship. 

the  triad 

(5)  Triumph  of  the  Multi-diademed  White  Horseman. 
His  antagonists  are  the  beast,  false  prophet,  and  the  kings  of 

the  earth. 

(6)  Final  Triumph  of  the  Throne  of  the  Theophany. 
Its  fiery  fulmination  forever  ends  the  career  of  the  great  an- 
tagonist with  all  his  infernal  coalition. 

(7)  The  Scenic  Display  of  Finalities. 

Dissolution  of  nature  In  the  presence  of  the  great  white 
throne,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  the  final  assize  of  the 
judgment. 


326  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Final  Contrastive  Counterpart 
This  amplifies  the  prelude  of  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb,  and 
presents  the  ravishing  grand  finale  of  the  book. 

With  this  clear  outline  before  us  it  will  hardly  be  necessary 
to  dwell  at  length  upon  the  numeric  subdivisions,  which  are  in 
evidence  here  as  they  are  in  all  other  sections  of  the  panorama. 

Babylon  the  Great,  the  Mother  of  Harlots 

First  Section  of  the  Trilogy 
The  Apocalypse  opens  with  the  resplendent  symbolism  of  the 
Christophany.  Its  central  whelming  figure  is  disclosed  as  the 
glorified  Christ  walking  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  golden  lamp- 
stands,  and  holding  seven  stars  in  his  hand.  Both  stars  and 
lampstands  are  involved  in  some  inscrutable  mystery  which  is 
not  solved  in  the  course  of  the  epistles,  but  the  rather  deepened. 
It  is  not  until  the  blast  of  the  seventh  trumpet  that  the  assur- 
ance is  given  that  the  mystery  is  now  to  be  finished.  Under  the 
blast  of  this  trumpet  develops  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany, 
which  presents  as  its  leading  figure  a  glorious  woman  as  sub- 
limely exalted  in  the  heavenly  spaces.  She  is  clothed  in  sun- 
light and  crowned  with  the  stars,  and  her  royal  child  is  caught 
up  to  God  and  his  throne.  In  the  counterpart  of  this  section 
she  again  appears  as  transformed  into  Mount  Zion.  We  see 
her,  in  the  presence  of  the  enraged  dragon,  descend  from  her 
dignified  celestial  position  to  cower  in  humiliation  and  defeat 
in  the  solitudes  of  the  wilderness.  We  have  noted  the  fact  that, 
throughout  the  entire  series  of  the  seven  epistles,  there  is  a 
recognized  segregating  line  which  divides  the  mystic  body  of 
the  church  of  Christ  into  the  true  and  the  apostate.  These  two 
phases  of  the  one  church  are  now  brought  to  their  culmination 
in  the  antithetic  figures  of  this  retributive  series — this  scarlet 
monstrosity,  and  the  Bride  of  the  Lamb.  This  word  "mystery" 
that  is  thus  divinely  branded  upon  the  forehead  of  this  foul 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  ^i^j 

creature,  as  well  as  the  "names  full  of  blasphemy"  with  which 
the  beast  she  rides  is  covered,  unite  to  tell  us  that  she  is  the 
Satanic  counterfeit  of  the  true  church  or  Bride  of  Christ. 

The  book  of  the  Christophany  is  not  only  the  propylseum 
of  a  great  mystic  temple,  but  the  full  expression  of  its  seven 
paragraphs  attests  the  structural  completeness  of  its  character- 
istic features.  Both  sides  of  its  series  are  carried  up  to  the 
terminal  point  of  the  second  coming  of  Christ.  As  we  retrace 
the  lines  of  the  mystic  content  of  these  seven  epistles  we  may 
now  see,  in  the  larger  light  of  the  celestial  series,  how  close 
the  parallel  between  the  issues  there  brought  to  view  and  those 
wlvch  .develop  in  the  expanded  symbolism.  Take  the  Ephesian 
phase,  for  instance,  and  you  may  clearly  see  the  lines  cutting 
sharply  between  these  two  phases  of  Harlot  and  Bride.  The 
''first  love"  is  here,  and  apostolic  life,  commendable  works,  and 
spiritual  communion ;  and  then  love  lost,  a  fallen  angel,  and  the 
coming  of  Christ  to  remove  its  light  forever.  In  the  Smyrnsean 
we  behold  the  sweep  of  the  fiery  storm  of  persecution  through 
the  whole  of  the  mystic  "ten  days,"  which  we  have  seen  to  be 
characteristic  of  the  whole  period  of  Satan's  maddened  career 
in  the  earth.  Here  there  is  a  pure  church,  without  reprehen- 
sion, and  the  crown  of  life  is  held  out  to  its  martyr  host.  In 
the  Pergamean  we  have  in  miniature  the  beast  and  the  false 
prophet,  and  structurally  the  issues  of  the  third  woe ;  here  also 
the  true  and  the  false,  the  victor  and  the  apostate.  As  we  pass 
from  the  opening  triad  to  the  ensuing  quadrate  the  Mother  of 
Harlots  herself  gives  the  first  visible  flaunt  of  her  scarlet  rob- 
ings  before  us.  Here  the  "depths  of  Satan"  are  uncovered,  the 
"great  tribulation"  rises  to  view,  and  the  church  of  Christ 
crashes  into  the  nations  and  rules  them  with  a  rod  of  iron.  In 
the  Sardean  we  have  a  church  with  a  "name  to  live,"  but  resting 
under  the  pall  of  spiritual  death ;  but  also  those  who  wear  the 
celestial  robe  of  white.  In  the  Philadelphian,  a  glorious  church 
without  rebuke,  Judah  worshiping  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  the 
church  triumphant  in  the  "great  tribulation,"  the  new  Jerusalem 


328  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

descending,  and  the  footfall  of  the  returning  Lord  sounding 
in  the  corridors  of  the  great  temple.  Lastly,  the  Laodicean, 
or  church  of  the  judgment.  She  is  startled  by  the  advent  knock 
at  the  door,  all  unconscious  of  her  awful  need  for  the  ordeal 
impending.  Poor,  wretched,  rhiserable,  blind,  and  naked,  she 
is  about  to  be  spewed  out,  in  divine  disgust;  and  yet  out  of 
this  mass  of  worldly  conformity  there  come  forth  victors  who 
are  found  worthy  to  sit  down  with  Christ  in  his  throne. 

We  need  but  to  take  this  running  glance  through  the  open- 
ing avenues  of  the  great  mystery  to  see  how  marvelously 
its  miniature  symbols  anticipate  the  unfolding  of  the  larger 
scroll.  Jezebel,  the  priestess  of  Baal,  the  foul  adulteress, 
the  power  behind  the  Israelite  throne,  becomes  the  self-called 
prophetess  and  teacher  of  the  Christian  church.  The  perti- 
nence of  the  symbol  is  clearly  apparent.  Babylon,  as  the 
proud  city  or  state  which  destroyed  Israel,  is  simply  an 
advance  upon  Jezebel.  A  point  to  be  noted  is  that 
Israel  went  into  the  great  tribulum  of  the  ages  in  two 
grand  divisions,  which  has  its  suggestions  with  respect  to 
the  double  episode  of  the  wilderness.  But  the  figure  of  the 
Basilophany  is  shown  to  be  larger  than  Israel,  as  she  wears 
it  as  the  starry  crown  upon  her  brow.  As  the  kingdom  divine 
she  suffered  a  double  defeat  at  the  hands  of  her  great  antago- 
nist, first  as  Israelite  and  second  as  Christian.  The  kingdom 
passed  into  eclipse  and  was  taken  from  the  Jew  and  given  to  a 
nation  that  would  bring  forth  the  fruits  thereof;  but  those 
fruits  lay  far  beyond  the  fearful  night  of  a  great  apostasy. 
The  Gentile  nations  were  grafted  into  the  trunk  of  the  tree 
from  which  the  natural  branches  had  been  broken.  These 
facts,  together  with  these  heathen  names  of  the  great  apostate, 
are  quite  sufficient  to  clear  the  mists  that  might  in  the  estima- 
tion of  some  be  conceived  as  beclouding  this  symbol  of  the 
woman  in  scarlet.  It  is  shown  to  be  fully  sufficient  to  cover 
the  Gentile  phase  of  the  great  apostasy,  as  well  as  to  fully 
embody  all  that  the  prophets  foresaw  with  respect  to  the  great 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  329 

defection  of  Israel.  The  fearful  picture  is  thus  portrayed  upon 
the  screen: 

*'And  there  came  one  of  the  seven  angels  which  had  the  seven 
vials,  and  talked  with  me,  saying,  Come  hither;  I  will  show 
unto  thee  the  judgment  of  the  great  whore  that  sitteth  upon 
many  waters :  with  whom  the  kings  of  the  earth  have  com- 
mitted fornication,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  have  been 
made  drunk  with  the  wine  of  her  fornication. 

"And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  Spirit  into  the  wilderness: 
and  I  saw  a  woman  sit  upon  a  scarlet  colored  beast,  with  names 
full  of  blasphemy,  having  seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  And  the 
woman  was  arrayed  in  (i)  purple  and  (2)  scarlet  color,  and 
(3)  gilded  with  gold  and  (4)  precious  stones  and  (5)  pearls, 
having  (6)  a  golden  cup  in  her  hand  full  of  abominations  and 
(7)  the  filthiness  of  her  fornication: 

"And  upon  her  forehead  was  a  name  written,  (i)  MYS- 
TERY, (2)  BABYLON  THE  GREAT,  (3)  THE  MOTHER 
OF  THE  HARLOTS  (4)  AND  OF  THE  ABOMINATIONS 
OF  THE  EARTH.  (5)  And  I  saw  the  woman  drunken  with 
the  blood  of  the  saints,  (6)  and  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs 
of  Jesus :  (7)  and  when  I  saw  her  I  wondered  with  great  won- 
der. And  the  angel  said  unto  me.  Wherefore  didst  thou  mar- 
vel? I  will  tell  thee  the  mystery  of  the  woman,  and  of  the 
beast  that  carrieth  her,  which  hath  seven  heads  and  ten  horns. 

"The  beast  that  thou  sawest  was,  and  is  not ;  and  is  about  to 
come  out  of  the  abyss,  and  to  go  into  perdition.  And  they  that 
dwell  on  the  earth  shall  wonder,  whose  name  hath  not  been 
written  in  the  book  of  life  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
when  they  behold  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  and  shall  come. 

"Here  is  the  mind  that  hath  wisdom.  The  seven  heads  are 
seven  mountains,  on  which  the  woman  sitteth :  and  they  are 
seven  kings :  the  five  are  fallen,  the  one  is,  the  other  is  not 
yet  come ;  and  when  he  cometh,  he  must  continue  a  little  while. 
And  the  beast  that  was,  and  is  not,  is  himself  also  an  eighth, 
and  is  of  the  seven :  and  he  goeth  into  perdition. 


330  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

"And  the  ten  horns  that  thou  sawest  are  ten  kings,  which 
have  received  no  kingdom  as  yet ;  but  receive  authority  as  kings, 
with  the  beast,  for  one  hour.  These  have  one  mind,  and  give 
their  power  and  authority  unto  the  beast.  These  shall  make 
war  against  the  Lamb,  and  the  Lamb  shall  overcome  them,  for 
he  is  Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings ;  and  they  that  are  with 
him,  called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful. 

*'And  he  said  unto  me.  The  waters  which  thou  sawest,  where 
the  harlot  sitteth,  are  peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations,  and 
tongues. 

"And  the  ten  horns  which  thou  sawest  upon  the  beast,  these 
shall  hate  the  harlot,  and  shall  make  her  desolate,  and  naked, 
and  shall  eat  her  flesh  and  shall  burn  her  utterly  with  fire. 

"For  God  hath  put  it  into  their  hearts  to  fulfill  his  will,  and 
to  agree,  and  give  their  kingdom  unto  the  beast,  until  the  words 
of  God  shall  be  fulfilled.  And  the  woman  which  thou  sawest 
is  the  great  city  [i6.  19],  which  hath  a  kingdom  over  the  kings 
of  the  earth." 

The  complete  identification  of  this  monster  in  scarlet  should 
not  be  difficult  in  the  presence  of  the  brilliant  light  that  is 
thrown  upon  her  by  the  correlate  symbolism.  First,  the  beast 
she  rides,  with  names  full  of  blasphemy,  is  by  the  dominant 
law  of  solidarity  of  symbol  shown  to  be  the  same  great  therion 
of  the  sea  whose  seven  heads,  as  lifted  from  the  briny  depths, 
bore  this  significant  brand.  An  important  suggestion  is  given 
in  the  fact  that  all  the  phases  of  the  three  woes  are  blended 
in  his  pedigree.  Primarily  he  arose  from  the  depths  of  the 
opened  pit.  The  statement  made  with  respect  to  him,  that  he 
is  "about  to  come  from  the  abyss,  and  to  go  into  perdition," 
simply  refers  to  the  metamorphic  conception  of  the  symbol  as 
portrayed  in  the  Trilogy.  As  presented  in  the  panorama  of 
the  third  woe  his  heads  are  all  erect  save  one,  which  had  the 
death-stroke  from  a  sword  upon  it,  but  which  was  healed,  thus 
conceptually  presenting  the  figure  in  the  fullness  of  its  power. 
In  the  picture  now  presented  five  of  these  heads  are  fallen  and 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  331 

only  one  is  erect,  with  one  to  develop  in  the  future.  We  are 
here  given  to  see  the  universal  scope  of  the  figure.  Again, 
the  two-horned  therion,  which  in  the  previous  section  both 
supports  and  thralls  him,  is  now  nowhere  in  sight.  The  meta- 
morphic  principle,  again,  explains  this.  As  Jezebel,  the  false 
prophetess  of  Thyatira,  is  an  advance  upon  Balaam,  the  false 
prophet  of  Pergamos,  so  this  scarlet  creature  supersedes  the 
thralling  beast  of  the  woe.  The  idolatrous  system  of  Baalism 
of  the  false  prophet  and  the  false  prophetess  was  one  and  the 
same;  consequently,  in  this  Babylonian  symbolism,  we  simply 
have  the  same  adverse  and  thralling  spiritual  despotism  as  it 
faces  the  lightnings  of  divine  retribution. 

The  Apocalypse  holds  no  more  distressing  picture  than  this 
which  is  here  thrown  upon  the  screen.  It  is  all  the  more  humili- 
ating because  it  is  but  the  faithful  reflex  in  mystic  figure  of 
that  which  the  Scriptures,  from  beginning  to  end,  assert  with 
respect  to  the  sad  defection  and  foul  corruption  of  the  church 
of  God  upon  earth.  This  unspeakable  creature,  throned  in  state 
upon  the  scarlet-colored  back  of  the  great  world-power,  wear- 
ing both  the  purple  and  the  scarlet,  and  drunk  with  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs,  presents  a  conception  that  is  as  far  removed 
from  that  of  the  Bride  of  the  Lamb  as  hell  is  from  that  of 
heaven.  And  yet  the  word  '"mystery,"  which  is  branded  upon 
her  forehead,  is  unquestionably  that  of  the  golden  candlesticks. 
We  were  not  given  to  see  what  became  of  the  glorious  woman 
that  was  exalted  in  the  heavenly  spaces,  clothed  with  the  sun- 
light and  crowned  with  the  stars,  save  that  she  descends  to  the 
jungle  instead  of  rises  to  the  throne.  When  great  eagle  wings 
were  given  to  her  she  still  failed  to  mount  up,  but  sought  her 
old  place  in  the  solitudes  of  the  wilderness.  Her  place  was  near 
that  throne  out  of  which  the  lightnings  flashed  and  the  thunders 
roared,  and  before  which  the  ceaseless  chant  of  "Holy,  holy, 
holy,"  blends  with  the  New  Song  and  the  voice  of  harpers 
harping  with  their  harps.  We  are  only  given  to  see  her  bright 
robings  fade  away  in  the  wilderness  and  then  to  behold,  as  the 


332  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

veil  of  this  wilderness  scene  is  lifted,  this  drunken  harlot  upon 
the  back  of  this  beast.  The  starry  crown  has  given  way  to  the 
brand  of  her  infamy,  the  sunlight  to  the  jewel-bespangled  para- 
phernalia of  the  harlot.  Woman  in  her  purity  is  the  most  beau- 
tiful, the  most  heavenly  emblem  that  the  Spirit  could  choose 
with  which  to  characterize  the  true  church  of  God,  and  woman 
fallen,  as  the  most  repulsive  thing  on  earth,  the  apostate. 

Protestant  commentators  have  no  hesitation  in  conceding 
this  fearful  picture  to  Rome.  But  they  ask,  Does  it  refer  to 
Rome  papal  or  to  Rome  pagan?  The  answer  given  by  the 
exponents,  if  more  carefully  studied,  would  have  answered 
their  question.  The  range  of  the  symbol  is  clearly  wider  than 
that  of  the  Roman  apostasy  alone,  including  all  phases  of  apos- 
tate Christianity  with  a  retrospective  view  which  also  includes 
the  great  defection  of  Israel ;  for  this  drunken  harlot  not  only 
quafifs  the  blood  of  the  saints  and  the  martyrs  of  Jesus,  but 
that  of  the  prophets  as  well.  She  is  the  great  universal  mur- 
deress, for  in  her  was  found  all  the  blood  of  all  that  were  slain 
upon  the  earth.  But,  as  the  great  Roman  phase  of  the  apostasy 
so  overshadows  all  others,  this  alone  need  engage  our  attention, 
though,  as  will  appear,  this  awful  picture  of  apostasy  covers  every 
form  of  the  prostitution  of  the  truth  of  God.  This  great  mystery 
sitteth  upon  many  waters,  and  is  a  most  prolific  mother.  Pagan 
Rome  was  no  church  at  all.  It  was  the  old  pagan  regime  which 
first  made  war  upon  the  saints,  and  which,  as  foreseen  by 
Daniel,  would  wear  them  out  and  overcome  them.  The  killing 
of  the  prophets  is,  by  our  Lord  himself,  charged  up  against 
Israel.  If  the  reader  will  carefully  refer  to  the  following  Scrip- 
tures he  will  hardly  fail  of  seeing  the  necessity  of  recognizing 
the  fact  that  prophecy  very  clearly  projects  the  Israelite  defec- 
tion into  the  gospel  age:  Isa.  i.  21 ;  Jer.  2.  20;  3.  i,  6,  8;  Ezek. 
16.  15,  16,  28,  31,  35,  41;  23,  5,  19,  44;  Hos.  2.  5;  3.  3,  4,  15; 
Mic.  I.  7. 

Alford  forcibly  says,  "The  figure  of  a  harlot  who  has  com- 
mitted fornication  with  secular  kings  and  peoples  is  frequent 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  333 

in  the  prophets,  and  has  one  principal  meaning  and  appHca- 
tion,  namely,  to  God's  church  and  people  that  have  forsaken 
him  and  attached  themselves  to  others." 

The  mobility  of  this  figure  of  the  great  therion  of  the  sea 
and  its  transitional  phases  is  clearly  indicated  in  the  exposition 
with  respect  to  it  that  is  given  by  the  angel.  He  announces 
that  he  will  tell  the  ''mystery"  of  the  woman  and  of  the  beast 
that  carries  her.  While  his  revelation  is  still  in  mystic  lan- 
guage, yet  if  our  ears  are  sufficiently  acute  we  will  in  reality 
grasp  the  mystery.    He  says : 

"Wherefore  didst  thou  marvel?  I  will  tell  thee  the  mystery 
of  the  woman,  and  of  the  beast  that  carrieth  her,  which  hath 
the  seven  heads  and  ten  horns.  The  beast  that  thou  sawest 
was,  and  is  not ;  and  is  about  to  come  up  out  of  the  abyss,  and 
to  go  into  perdition.  And  they  that  dwell  on  the  earth  shall 
wonder,  whose  names  were  not  written  in  the  book  of  life  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  when  they  behold  the  beast  that 
was,  and  is  not,  and  shall  come." 

We  are  here,  and  in  the  continuance  of  this  angelic  exposi- 
tion, given  to  see  several  most  important  features  of  this  sym- 
bolism which,  if  we  are  able  to  grasp  them,  will  clear  the 
horizon  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner.  The  great  truth  that 
stands  out  in  the  clear  is  that  there  are  two  phases  of  this 
figure  thrown  upon  the  screen.  One  is  in  the  past  tense,  and  has 
now  ceased  to  be.  But,  as  transformed,  he  still  exists.  His 
seven  heads  are  seven  mountains,  or,  cleared  of  mysticism,  the 
universal  world-dominion.  There  are  seven  kings,  or  world- 
empires,  conceptually  present  in  the  figure,  though  five  of  them 
have  become  historic,  belonging  to  that  phase  of  the  old-time 
pagan  world-power  that  has  passed  away.  Only  one  head  is 
now  erect  upon  the  beast,  which  fact  fully  certifies  the  postulate 
that  it  stands  for  pagan  Rome. 

The  one  head  which,  from  the  standpoint  of  Patmos,  was  yet 
to  come,  and  which  would  startle  the  whole  world  and  cause  it 
to  wonder,  is  thus  chronologically  fixed  beyond  dispute ;  it  will 


334  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

be  the  result  of  a  second  opening  of  the  doors  of  the  bottomless 
pit  and  of  a  fresh  incursion  of  the  power  of  the  underworld 
into  the  earth.  Thus  again  we  have  presented  to  us,  under  a 
chronology  that  cannot  be  mistaken,  the  fact  that  this  meta- 
morphosed phase  of  world-dominion  in  the  Christian  age  has 
its  origin  in  the  bursting  open  of  the  doors  of  the  bottomless 
pit  and  the  loosing  of  Satan  in  the  earth.  If  the  reader  has 
mastered  the  method  of  this  mystic  chronology,  which  has 
throughout  the  course  of  the  series  traversed  invariably  brought 
us  to  this  point,  he  will  see  that  in  this  angelic  interpretation 
the  sunlight  has  indeed  shot  through  the  symbolism  in  a  man- 
ner that  definitely  settles  one  of  the  most  perplexing  questions 
of  the  panorama. 

As  the  fifth  vial  is  poured  out  upon  the  throne  of  the  beast 
grievous  sores  result — the  reflex,  perhaps,  of  the  grievous  sores 
upon  the  putrefying  body  of  the  beast  himself ;  for  it  is  histori- 
cally true  that  as  each  head  has  fallen  and  rotted  away  it  has 
left  an  open  sore  which  none  of  his  physicians  have  ever  been 
able  to  heal.  Conceptually  the  power  of  dominion  is  in  the 
ten  horns,  for  they  wear  the  diadems,  but  they  have  no  kingdom 
save  as  they  give  their  power  to  the  beast  and  reign  conjointly 
with  him.  In  the  same  sense  as  it  may  be  said  of  the  beast 
that  he  was,  is  not,  and  yet  is,  all  the  antecedent  phases  of 
Satanic  power  must  be  conceived  as,  in  a  correlate  sense,  pass- 
ing forward  with  the  beast  redivivus.  I  must  here  record  my 
dissent  from  the  interpretation  which  so  positively  at  this  point 
interjects  the  seven  hills  of  Rome.  The  interposition  of  a  liter- 
alism in  this  connection,  striking  as  it  may  be,  is  in  violation 
of  the  method  of  the  Apocalypse,  shows  a  painful  lack  of  acute- 
ness  of  perception,  and  weakens  the  cause  in  behalf  of  which 
it  is  brought  forward.  If  the  seven  hills  are  the  literal  hills 
of  the  Eternal  City,  how  about  the  many  waters  ?  Five  of  these 
mountains  were  fallen  in  the  time  of  the  writing  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse, while  it  will  hardly  be  disputed  that  the  seven  literal 
hills  of  Rome  are  yet  in  place.    From  the  standpoint  of  John, 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  335 

or  rather  of  the  interpreting  angel,  only  one  of  these  great 
mountains  lay  in  the  future.  As  one  head  it  would  wear  all 
the  horns,  but  would  continue  only  a  "short  space."  Here  we 
have  again  the  chronological  exponent  of  the  period  of  Satan's 
loosing  in  the  earth.  The  continuance  of  this  final  phase  of 
world-dominion  is  under  the  one  head  of  the  beast,  with  the 
apostate  church  enthroned  upon  his  back  and  guiding  him  as 
she  will,  until  the  horns  break  loose  from  the  last  falling  head 
and,  turning  against  the  great  harlot,  ''make  her  desolate  and 
naked,  and  shall  eat  her  flesh,  and  burn  her  with  fire." 

There  are  but  two  points  within  the  lines  of  this  panorama 
where  a  divine  call  is  made  for  ''wisdom":  first  in  connection 
with  the  number  of  the  two-horned  adjuvant  of  the  therion 
of  the  sea  and  again  with  respect  to  this  duality  now  before  us. 
The  reintroduction  of  this  exponential  marking  here  is  signifi- 
cant. It  tells  us  in  metamorphic  phase  that  the  thrall  of  the 
beast  in  both  cases  is  by  the  same  power,  though  in  the  one 
case  by  the  false  prophet  and  in  the  other  by  the  great  whore. 
It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  of  the  two-horned  therion  as 
present  in  this  scene.  He  exerciseth  all  the  pozver  of  the  beast. 
His  supersession  in  the  case  before  us,  therefore,  is  simply  a 
metamorphic  phase  of  the  symbolism. 

Two  most  interesting  facts  are  stated  by  this  interpreting 
angel  with  respect  to  the  ten  horns  upon  the  beast  which  do 
not  fall  conjointly  with  the  heads,  but  which  remain  until  the 
end.  In  the  progress  of  the  panorama  they  receive  no  kingdom 
save  as  they  are  a  component  part  of  the  beast.  The  horn  is 
the  symbol  of  power.  Here  mystically  we  are  told  that  the 
universal  power  of  world-dominion  will  by  concerted  action  be 
given  to  the  support  of  the  beast  until  this  last  head  shall 
fall.  The  Lamb  shall  finally  overcome  them ;  "for  he  is  Lord 
of  lords,  and  King  of  kings,  and  they  that  are  with  him  are 
called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful."  The  allusion  here  is  to  the 
second  phase  of  the  Trilogy  and  serves  to  mark  its  inclusion. 
His  overcoming  of  these  ten  horns  which  destroy  the  harlot 


336  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

fulfills  the  prolepsis  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  that 
*'the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdom  of  our 
Lord,  and  of  his  Christ." 

The  identification  of  the  great  harlot  by  the  angel  as  ''that 
great  city  which  reigneth  over  the  kings  of  the  earth,"  as  here 
presented  in  its  final  phase  of  characterization,  is  shown  to 
be  that  great  counterfeit  of  the  true  church  of  Christ  which 
has  in  reality  drunk  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  as  this 
great  apocalyptic  monster  has  done  mystically.  If  we  admit  the 
only  possible  interpretation  of  this  figure  that  can  be  drawn 
from  the  Scriptures  there  is  no  escape  from  the  conclusion. 
There  is  but  one  great  city  that  ever  pretended  to  reign,  or,  in 
fact,  ever  did  reign,  over  the  kings  of  the  earth.  There  is  now 
but  one  that  sits  upon  its  great  quadrate  of  waters  and  claims 
to  have  dominion  over  every  throne  on  the  globe,  without  abat- 
ing one  whit  of  the  arrogance  of  the  past,  and  that  great  city  is 
the  great  Roman  apostate  church. 

That  Rome  is  the  objective  point  of  this  imagery  is  candidly 
admitted  by  some  of  the  ablest  champions  within  her  fold, 
such  as  Bellarmine,  Baronius,  and  Bossuet,  as  quoted  by  Dr. 
Wordsworth  in  his  lectures.  Cardinal  Bellarmine  says,  "Saint 
John,  in  the  Apocalypse,  calls  Rome  Babylon ;  for  no  other  city 
except  Rome  reigned  in  his  age  over  the  kings  of  the  earth ; 
and  it  was  well  known  that  Rome  was  seated  upon  seven  hills." 
'Tt  is  confessed,"  says  Cardinal  Baronius,  "that  Rome  is  sig- 
nified in  the  Apocalypse  by  the  name  of  Babylon."  Bossuet, 
Bishop  of  Meaux,  says,  "The  features  are  so  marked  that  it  is 
easy  to  decipher  Rome  under  the  figure  of  Babylon."  Now, 
what  do  Romish  writers  do  with  these  most  candid  admissions? 
They  simply  try  to  maintain  that  only  pagan  Rome  is  meant, 
or  that  these  prophecies,  as  applied  to  papal  Rome,  are  to  be 
fulfilled  in  some  distant  day.  The  delusion  of  which  Saint  Paul 
speaks  was  evidently  far  too  strong  upon  them  to  admit  of  their 
seeing  the  awful  reality  which  was  thus  held  prophetically 
before  their  purblind  eyes.     The  perversity  that  could  class 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  337 

the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Christ  with  that  of  thieves  and 
man-killers  could  hardly  be  expected  to  discern  the  identity 
of  their  "holy  mother"  as  the  great  principal  in  this  bloody 
debauch. 

It  is  not  essential  to  the  integrity  of  this  apocalyptical  sym- 
bolism to  establish  the  literal  year  in  which  Rome  pagan  or 
Christian  gave  way  to  Rome  pontifical.  The  great  fact  that  is 
admitted  by  all  is  that  the  universal  emperor  was  succeeded 
by  the  universal  bishop.  That  this  last  phase  of  universal  power 
would  be  diverse  from  anything  ever  known  in  the  history  of 
the  world  is  stated  in  unmistakable  terms  by  the  prophet  Daniel. 
When  the  Pope  became  the  substitute  for  the  imperial  Caesar 
the  last  head  was  developed  upon  the  beast,  and  that  stupen- 
dous empire,  far  greater  in  its  extent  than  the  secular  empire 
ever  was,  arose  and  to  this  hour  asserts  its  claim  to  the  throne 
of  the  Caesars.  And  because  it  is  denied  him  by  one  of  the 
horns,  that  is  beginning  to  get  in  some  of  its  divinely  ordained 
work,  the  Pope  sits  like  a  caged  lion  in  the  Vatican  and  roars 
out  his  displeasure.  Elliott  quotes  from  Vitringa  two  pertinent 
passages  with  respect  to  this  papal  head. '  They  are  from 
writers  of  the  papal  era.  Augustus  Steuchus,  librarian  of  the 
Pope,  says :  "The  empire  having  been  overthrown,  unless  God 
had  raised  up  the  pontificate,  Rome,  resuscitated  and  restored 
by  none,  would  have  become  uninhabitable  and  would  have 
become  thenceforward  a  most  foul  habitation  of  cattle.  But 
in  the  pontificate  it  revived  as  with  a  second  birth ;  its  empire 
not,  indeed,  equal  to  the  old  empire,  but  its  form  not  very  dis- 
similar, because  all  nations,  from  east  and  from  west,  venerate 
the  Pope  not  otherwise  than  they  obeyed  the  emperors."  The 
second  passage  is  from  Flavins  Blondus,  a  celebrated  papal 
antiquarian  writer  in  the  sixteenth  century,  who  says:  "The 
princes  of  the  world  now  adore  and  worship  as  perpetual  dic- 
tator the  successor,  not  of  Caesar,  but  of  the  fisherman  Peter; 
that  is,  the  supreme  pontiff,  the  substitute  of  the  aforesaid 
emperor."     Dr.  Whedon,  who  quotes  the  above,  tersely  adds, 


338  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

"And  hereby  was  fulfilled  the  ancient  prediction  of  Saint  Paul, 
that  the  man  of  sin,  the  Antichrist,  in  the  temple  of  God,  would 
not  be  revealed  until  the  emperor  disappeared." 

It  will  be  noted  here  that  the  same  lines  drawn  between  the 
beast  and  the  false  prophet  are  maintained  between  the  beast 
and  the  harlot,  as  significant  of  the  same  dual  power. 

As  an  instance  of  the  governing  significance  of  this  mystic 
number  seven,  attention  may  be  directed  to  the  statement  made 
in  connection  with  the  completion  of  this  symbolism  of  these 
governmental  heads.  It  is  said  of  the  beast  that  was,  and  is 
not,  that  he  is  an  eighth,  but  it  is  immediately  added  that  he 
is  of  the  seven.  There  is  therefore  a  sense  in  which  the  beast 
himself  becomes  a  great  world-power  that  must  be  charac- 
terized in  the  symbolism. 

While  the  purple  and  scarlet,  gold,  gems,  and  pearls,  so 
lavishly  flaunted  in  the  loud  paraphernalia  of  the  harlot  are 
rather  to  be  considered  as  having  a  spiritual  significance,  yet 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  coincidence  which  they  present 
with  respect  to  the  pomp,  glare,  and  lavish  splendor  of  Romish 
equipage  is  indeed  most  striking.  What  Rome  was  in  the  day 
of  her  greatest  power,  when  she  could  make  her  proud  boast 
that  kings  were  her  vassals,  whom  she  could  strip  of  their 
power  and  compel  to  stand  naked  before  her  palace  gates,  is 
undisputed  history.  Emperors  holding  the  stirrup  for  the  Pope 
to  mount  his  mule,  or  bowing  low  before  his  more  than  regal 
splendor,  laying  themselves  in  the  dust  for  the  Pope  to  put 
his  foot  upon  their  necks,  may  seem  uncharitable  to  recall,  but 
it  in  a  marvelous  manner  certifies  the  fact  that  if  there  ever 
was  a  universal  secular  power  upon  this  earth  more  imposing 
history  has  utterly  failed  to  take  note  of  it.  It  is  the  proud 
boast  of  Romish  writers  that  Rome  never  changes.  What  she 
has  been  in  the  past  she  is,  in  spirit  at  least,  to-day.  There 
certainly  was  never  a  time  in  her  history  when  her  purple, 
scarlet,  gold,  and  pearls  were  more  in  evidence  than  at  the 
present  time.    For  instance,  let  us  but  note  the  splendor  of  any 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  339 

of  her  more  recent  state  occasions,  and  we  can  but  be  impressed 
with  the  presence  of  the  purple,  scarlet,  and  gold. 

One  instance  of  the  flaunting  of  this  loud  paraphernalia  in 
the  face  of  the  Western  world:  It  is  January  5,  1896.  The 
occasion  is  that  of  the  elevation  of  the  Pope's  ablegate,  Satolli, 
to  the  cardinalate  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  The  weather  is 
intensely  cold,  the  thermometer  being  below  zero.  The  pro- 
cession forms  upon  the  street,  oblivious  of  the  cold.  Priests 
and  bishops  stand  bareheaded  in  the  streets,  worshiping  at  the 
shrine  of  "holy  mother."  First  came  the  processional  cross- 
bearer,  with  the  crucifix  raised  high  in  the  air ;  following  him, 
a  long  line  of  students  from  the  colleges  of  Catholicism  in  the 
city ;  after  them,  the  seminarians,  and  then  priests,  then  Fran- 
ciscan monks ;  following  these  came  the  members  of  the  Cath- 
olic University  in  Washington ;  after  these,  a  half  hundred 
bishops,  the  purple  and  gold  of  their  vestments  glistening  re- 
splendent in  the  clear  cold  air,  their  immense  trains  held  up 
by  little  shivering  altar  boys.  Thus  they  marched  by  the  palace 
of  the  cardinal,  where  they  were  joined  by  his  eminence,  who 
took  his  place  last  in  the  line.  Upon  his  shoulders  hung  a 
beautiful  cloak  of  cardinal  silk  and  ermine,  with  half  a  dozen 
train-bearers  clad  in  cardinal  velvet  and  gilt  braid  following 
in  his  wake.  In  this  order  they  swept  up  Mulberry  Street 
to  the  cathedral,  where  they  filed  into  the  marble  pile.  When 
Cardinal  Gibbons  reached  the  altar  he  bowed  low  to  Monsignor 
Satolli,  who  returned  the  salutation,  and  both,  accompanied  by 
their  assistants,  sought  their  respective  thrones.  Then  the 
Marquis  Sacripanti,  clad  in  the  scarlet,  gold,  and  white  uniform 
of  the  Papal  Guards,  wearing  high  boots,  sword,  and  helmet, 
advanced  from  his  position  near  the  center  of  the  altar  and 
deposited  on  a  table  at  the  left  hand  of  Cardinal  Gibbons  the 
cardinalatial  documents  and  the  berretta ;  then  he  crossed  the 
altar  and  stood  in  front  of  the  throne.  He  lifted  his  helmet 
to  the  cardinal  elect  and  took  his  place  on  the  left  of  his  throned 
majesty.     Then  the  cardinal-to-be  advanced  to  the  throne  of 


340  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Cardinal  Gibbons  and  addressed  him  in  Latin,  to  which  the 
cardinal  responded  in  the  same  tongue,  and  finishing  his  ad- 
dress he  descended  from  the  throne  and  advanced  to  the  altar, 
where  he  met  the  Monsignor.  The  prelate  knelt ;  the  cardinal 
took  the  berretta  from  the  silver  salver,  held  it  up  so  all  could 
see  it,  and  then  placed  it  upon  the  head  of  the  new  cardinal. 
Cardinal  Satolli  arose  and  made  another  address,  and  retired 
to  the  inner  sanctuary,  and  in  a  few  moments  returned,  clad  in 
the  gorgeous  scarlet  robes  of  a  cardinal.  Finally  the  Pope 
himself  spoke  through  Cardinal  Gibbons,  in  the  following 
strain,  by  cablegram : 

''To  his  Eminence,  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Archbishop  of  Balti- 
more : 
''The  extraordinary  splendor  accompanying  the  conferring 
the  berretta  upon  Cardinal  Satolli  gratifies  the  Holy  Father 
beyond  measure,  and  he  asks  your  Eminence  to  express  his 
satisfaction.  Furthermore,  as  a  token  of  his  deep  appreciation, 
he  empowers  your  Eminence  to  impart  to  all  present  at  the 
ceremony  the  Apostolic  Benediction.  Leo." 

The  cardinal,  accordingly,  pronounced  the  papal  benediction, 
and  the  gorgeous  and  splendid  ceremony  was  at  an  end. 

Later  than  this,  in  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century,  in 
the  year  1903,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Leo  XIII  and 
the  consequent  election  and  installation  of  his  successor,  an- 
other instance  is  given  in  which,  in  a  striking  manner,  we 
behold  the  fulfillment  of  the  apocalyptic  symbol  of  the  whole 
world  as  standing  in  wonder  and  amazement  before  the  beast. 
While  the  aged  pontiff  lay  dying  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world 
were,  for  the  time  being,  fixed  as  in  deep  solicitude  upon  the 
Vatican.  A  strange  spell  seemed  to  have  fallen  upon  the  whole 
Protestant  world,  hushing  the  press  and  even  the  pulpit  into 
a  stultifying  silence.  Nothing  but  fulsome  praise,  extravagant 
compliment,  and  servile  adulation  found  place  in  the  public 
print.     There  seemed  to  be  a  craven  fear  on  all  sides  that 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  341 

something  might  inadvertently  be  said  that  might  be  construed 
into  a  criticism  of  the  senseless  Romish  mummeries  with  which 
the  world  was  being  regaled.  The  Pope  might  confess  his 
]\Iariolatry  while  living,  and  the  whole  Catholic  cult  join  in 
senseless  incantation  for  the  repose  of  his  soul  when  dead,  and 
not  a  single  voice  was  heard  in  protest  in  the  name  of  the 
martyred  dead  whose  blood  the  great  harlot  has  quaffed. 
Rome,  without  abating  one  jot  or  tittle  of  her  arrogant  claims 
of  vicegerency,  without  even  conceding  the  semblance  of  right 
to  the  Protestant  world  to  exist  or  to  use  the  Christian  name, 
yet  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  these  Protestant  millions 
apparently  overawed  by  her  presence  as  the  beast,  with  his 
infamous  load  of  harlotry,  moved  forward  to  possess  himself 
of  all  the  great  world-avenues  of  the  twentieth  century. 

If  we  shall  go  back  to  the  early  stages  of  Christianity  we 
will  find  that  this  association  of  the  Antichrist  with  that  regime 
that  was  destined  to  arise  upon  the  ruins  of  the  old  Roman 
empire  is  not  of  Protestant  origin.  This  fact  was  well  un- 
derstood even  from  the  times  of  the  apostles  themselves. 
Cyprian,  in  the  third  century,  wrote :  "We  are  now  in  the  end 
and  consummation  of  the  world;  the  fatal  time  of  Antichrist 
is  at  hand."  Tertullian,  also  in  the  third  century,  wrote :  "Who 
is  he  that  letteth?"  in  allusion  to  Paul's  prophecy  in  Second 
Thessalonians.  "Who  but  the  Roman  empire,  the  breaking 
up  and  dispersion  of  which  among  the  ten  kings  shall  bring  on 
Antichrist?  And  then  shall  be  revealed  that  wicked  one  whom 
the  Lord  Jesus  shall  slay  with  the  Spirit  of  his  mouth."  In 
the  fourth  century  Lactantius  wrote:  "This  [the  predicted 
Antichrist]  shall  come  when  the  time  of  the  Roman  empire 
shall  be  fulfilled  and  the  consummation  of  the  world  approach." 

These  are  certainly  not  post-Refomiation  utterances,  for 
they  antedate  the  Reformation  more  than  a  thousand  years. 
Protestants  certainly  did  not  write  this  mysterious  book  that 
contains  this  striking  reflex  of  the  purple  and  scarlet,  gold 
and  gems,  and  awe-inspiring  presence  in  this  apocalyptic  pic- 


342  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

ture  of  the  great  apostate  church.  Protestants  clearly  have 
had  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  painting  held  before  us. 
It  was  John,  the  beloved  disciple,  who  drew  its  fearful  lines. 
And  the  Protestant  world  has  no  responsibility  for  the  fact 
that  Rome  is  at  this  hour  prostrating  itself  in  worship  before 
a  woman  whom  it  calls  its  "holy  mother"  and  whom  it  invests 
with  the  attributes  of  God.  It  is  not  a  Protestant  calumny 
against  Rome  that  charges  her  with  the  slaughter  of  not  less 
than  fifty  millions  of  those  who  were  willing  to  die  for  their 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  the  awful  record  of  history, 
and  no  Jesuitical  sponging  will  ever  be  able  to  wipe  it  out. 
Let  Rome  continue  to  malign  the  character  of  the  millions 
Avhose  lives  she  has  crushed  out  upon  her  racks,  or  whom  she 
has  sent  out  of  the  world  through  the  fires  of  her  auto-da-fcs, 
to  cry  unto  God  from  beneath  the  great  red  altar ;  let  her  con- 
tinue to  cover  their  memory,  as  once  she  covered  their  bodies, 
with  caricature,  contemning  them  as  only  ''brute  beasts,  for 
the  shedding  of  whose  blood  no  commonwealth  shall  answer" ; 
yet  it  remains  true  that  they  loved  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with 
a  love  sufficiently  strong  to  unshrinkingly  face  tortures  which 
only  Satan  himself  could  ever  have  conceived,  and  to  joyously 
yield  up  their  lives  with  the  precious  name  of  Christ  upon 
their  lips.  There  is  no  question  as  to  the  record.  The  lips 
of  the  great  "mother"  have  quaffed  the  blood  of  these  millions, 
and  thereby  discloses  the  antitype  of  the  fearful  picture  drawn 
by  the  fisherman  of  Galilee.  Rome  has  torn  the  Word  of  God 
from  the  hands  of  those  who  sought  to  find  in  it  the  way  of 
life,  and  consigned  it  to  the  flames.  She  has  done  so  within 
the  opening  years  of  the  twentieth  century  in  the  countries 
where  she  is  supreme,  and  even  in  free  America,  if  an  attempt 
is  made  to  lift  the  veil  with  which  she  strives  to  conceal  her 
infamous  practices,  it  is  met  with  a  threat  of  death  from  her 
priesthood.  The  author  is  in  possession  of  proof  of  what  he 
here  asserts.  Rome  may  protest,  but  the  rolling  centuries  are 
vocal.    There  comes  a  voice  from  Bohemia,  where  the  saintly 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  343 

Huss  yielded  up  his  pure  spirit  to  God  in  the  midst  of  Popish 
flames ;  another  comes  from  the  Lowlands,  where  the  butcheries 
of  the  infamous  Duke  of  Alva  horrified  the  civilized  world; 
bloody  forms  swarm  the  Alpine  valleys;  while  over  the  hills 
of  France  hovers  the  gory  specter  of  Saint  Bartholomew — 
all  waiting  for  the  day  when  the  retributive  vengeance  of  God 
shall  be  let  loose,  as  God  himself  has  promised  it  shall  be. 
Fearful  as  this  historic  record  of  slaughter  is,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  this  debauch  of  blood  has  its  climax  in  the  deep 
dark  underground  chambers  and  dungeons  of  Rome's  "Holy 
Inquisition,"  where 'men  like  the  fiendish  Torquemada  with 
their  most  infernal  cruelties  eclipsed  the  record  of  Nero.  His- 
tory tells  us  that  a  full  complement  of  the  paraphernalia  of 
the  Inquisition  formed  a  most  important  part  of  the  equipment 
of  the  great  Spanish  Armada  that  sailed  for  the  conquest  of 
England.  The  world,  perhaps,  will  never  know  until  the  great 
day  how  much  it  owes  to  God  for  letting  his  tempest  loose 
upon  the  sea,  and  thus  sending  this  flower  of  the  Spanish  main 
where  lately  its  successor  was  sent  by  Anglo-Saxon  guns  on 
the  coasts  of  Cuba  and  in  Manila  Bay. 

What  has  Rome  to  say  in  the  presence  of  this  awful  indict- 
ment ?  Simply  this :  The  note  in  the  Rhemish  New  Testament, 
authorized  by  the  Pope,  says  with  reference  to  this  Babylonian 
symbolism  of  the  Apocalypse,  "The  Protestants  foolishly  ex- 
pound it  of  Rome,  for  that  they  there  put  heretics  to  death,  and 
allow  of  their  punishment  in  other  countries;  hut  their  blood 
is  not  called  the  blood  of  saints,  no  more  than  the  blood  of 
thieves,  man-killers,  and  other  malefactors,  for  the  shedding 
of  which  by  the  order  of  justice  no  commonwealth  shall 
anszver." 

It  has  been  previously  noted  that  the  ancient  Baal  worship, 
which  appears  in  the  symbolism  of  the  epistles  as  the  germ  out 
of  which  this  vast  universal  system  of  spiritual  harlotry  de- 
velops, unites  debauchery  and  dogma.  The  system  that  here 
crashes  to  ruin  is  also  a  compound  of  lewdness  and  false  the- 


344  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

ology.  In  her  contravention  of  the  divine  law  of  marriage  she 
not  only  fulfills  another  prophecy  (i  Tim.  4.  3),  but  she  has 
reaped  a  harvest  of  concubinage,  fornication,  and  adultery 
that  would  be  simply  appalling  could  the  secret  rooms,  dun- 
geons, and  confessionals  be  made  to  tell  their  story.  I  would 
in  all  charity  draw  the  veil  here  and  add  no  new  chapter  to 
Rome's  book  of  horrors,  for  the  picture  the  world  has  been 
compelled  to  look  upon  is  enough  to  make  angels  weep;  but 
it  is  a  kindness  to  Rome  herself  to  exhibit  that  putrescence 
which  is  continually  being  heaved  to  the  surface  as  ominous 
of  the  swift-descending  judgment  of  God  and  of  the  fires  of 
eternal  burning  toward  which  the  great  harlot  is  heading. 

The  blasphemous  character  of  the  old-time  regal  heathenism 
is  clearly  indicated  as  passing  forward  with  the  form  of  the 
beast  redivivus.  It  thus  must  be  conceived  as  taking  on  a 
Christian  phase,  inasmuch  as  the  beast  himself  is  shown  to  be 
so  completely  thralled  by  these  representative  symbols  of 
Christian  absolutism  that  the  incrimination  is  mutual.  The 
blasphemous  titles  alone  which  Rome  gives  to  the  Pope  and  the 
Virgin  are  sufficient  to  sustain  the  charge  of  blasphemy  as- 
serted by  the  symbolism  at  this  point.  Blasphemy,  harlotry, 
and  blood  most  fittingly  characterize  the  record  Rome  has 
made.  As  a  system  it  usurps  the  office  of  Christ  by  inter- 
posing itself  as  the  only  mediator  between  heaven  and  earth. 
True,  it  does  not  deny  the  character  and  efficiency  of  the 
atonement,  but  it  plants  itself  squarely  in  the  way  of  the  sinner 
and  denies  him  all  access  to  Christ  except  through  its  paganized 
mummeries.  As  a  recent  writer  has  said,  "The  priest  stands 
between  the  sinner  and  God ;  auricular  confession  between  him 
and  the  footstool  of  mercy;  penance  between  him  and  godly 
sorrow  for  sin;  the  mass  between  him  and  the  righteousness 
of  Christ;  indulgence  between  him  and  a  self-denying  Chris- 
tian life ;  tradition  between  him  and  Holy  Scripture ;  and  pur- 
gatory between  him  and  the  heavenly  world"  (D.  C.  Marquis, 
D.  D.). 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  345 

The  Trilogy — Part  First 

The  Fall  of  Babylon 

"And  the  great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts"  (Rev.  16.  19). 

This  important  exponential  statement  presents  great  Babylon 
as  in  three  sections,  not,  perhaps,  as  the  scenic  result  of  the 
great  earthquake,  but  rather  that  underlying  fundamental 
principles  may  be  properly  thrown  into  characteristic  expres- 
sion. The  great  city  was  divided  into  three  parts,  and  all 
simultaneously  crash  to  ruin,  though  figure  and  incident  must 
necessarily  pass  in  successional  order  upon  the  panoramic 
scroll. 

The  fall  of  this  great  harlot  is  detailed  on  a  scale  of  gran- 
deur that  is  certainly  commensurate  with  the  importance  which 
it  assumes  as  the  climacteric  figure  of  this  adverse  symbolism. 
The  threnody  which  details  the  terrific  scene  also  divides  into 
three  parts,  and  is  the  most  magnificent  panegyric  of  the  book. 
This  fact  alone  should  be  sufficient  to  determine  the  all-inclu- 
sive character  of  this  first  great  primal  phase  of  retributive 
vengeance.  The  extended  space  the  threnody  occupies,  the 
majestic  imagery  wheeled  into  line,  the  universal  sweep  of  its 
periods,  all  with  eloquent  voice  tell  us  that  in  the  fall  of  the 
great  universal  corruptress  of  the  kings  of  the  nations  and 
the  diverse  peoples  of  the  whole  earth  it  carries  down  the 
whole  great  world  coalition  against  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord 
and  of  his  Christ,  and  fully  includes  the  great  Armageddon. 
That  this  is  the  significance  of  the  introduction  here  of  the 
title  "Lord  of  lords,  and  King  of  kings,"  applied  to  the  great 
Leader  in  the  next  section  of  the  Trilog>%  becomes  apparent 
when  we  apprehend  the  structural  significance  of  such  an 
allusion. 

As  we  consider  this  Babylonian  figure,  with  its  environment 
and  the  logical  sequences  attendant  upon  her  fall,  it  may  be 
given  us  to  see  how  irrational,  how  utterly  inconceivable  the 
popular   assumption   that,    subsequent   to   this   awful   day   of 


346  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

divine  judgment,  which  rises  up  to  universal  proportions, 
tearing  this  great  scarlet  cancer  out  of  the  whole  earth  by  the 
manifested  presence  and  glory  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  there  could 
be  a  return  to  the  conditions  which  obtained  before  this  scarlet 
abomination  arose  to  view.  Strange  indeed  the  conception 
that  we  can  reverse  the  course  of  the  ages,  restore  the  fallen 
heads  to  the  beast,  again  place  the  horns  in  their  old-time 
position,  and  that  after  the  lightnings  of  divine  wrath  and 
judgment  have  struck  the  foul  creature  from  his  back  we 
should  find  the  false  prophet  unscathed,  his  universal  thrall 
again  renewed,  and  these  ''kings  of  the  earth,"  who  have  torn 
and  demolished  the  great  harlot,  as  arrayed  against  the  Lamb, 
in  coalition  with  the  beast  and  false  prophet  upon  another 
great  universal  field.  The  false  prophet  deceives  the  whole 
world  by  his  great  miracles  and  lying  wonders,  which  he  had 
power  to  perform  in  the  sight  of  the  beast.  He  deluges  the 
world  with  blood  by  putting  to  death  all  who  refuse  to  submit 
to  his  sway.  Then  the  curtain  falls,  and  lifts  upon  the  scene 
of  this  wilderness  horror.  The  great  harlot  has  taken  full 
possession  of  his  beast.  She  saddles  and  rides  him  as  she 
will.  She  deceives  the  whole  world  by  her  sorceries,  and  she 
and  her  great  family  of  bawds  become  the  paramours  of  the 
kings  of  the  earth.  These  kings  become  the  agencies  of  the 
harlot's  destruction.  They  tear  her  flesh  and  give  her  to  the 
eternal  burnings.  They  stand  afar  off,  recognizing  the  divine 
judgment  that  has  fallen  upon  her.  And  yet  we  are  asked 
to  believe  he  now  resumes  his  old  position,  starts  up  his  thunder 
mill  afresh,  and  persuades  these  kings  to  brush  away  their 
tears  and  try  it  again.  With  the  smoke  of  burning  Babylon 
rolling  in  terrific  grandeur  before  their  eyes  they  conclude 
that  they  have  not  had  enough.  Even  the  Spaniards  were  more 
sensible  than  that. 

The  importance  of  this  Babylonian  section  is  such  that  we 
must  give  all  its  phases  the  most  careful  attention  if  we  would 
penetrate  the  mystic  veiling  of  the  figures  passing  before  us. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  347 

We  must  keep  in  mind  the  principles  discovered  with  respect 
to  the  governing  law  of  the  symbolism.  We  are  now  dealing 
with  the  fourth  great  division  of  the  book,  the  amplification 
of  the  issues  of  the  seventh  vial,  aimed  directly  at  the  per- 
sonality of  Satan  himself,  and  under  the  fourth,  and  com- 
pleted, exponential  utterance  of  the  concerted  throne  voicings. 
Vision  here  takes  the  full  sweep  of  the  entire  apocalyptic  field, 
but  in  an  order  the  reverse  of  that  which  introduced  the  great 
factors  of  the  adverse  trinity.  The  metamorphism  clearly 
discoverable  with  respect  to  some  of  the  figures  should  be 
sufficient  ground  for  holding  that  it  may  possibly  involve  them 
all.  The  liquid  discharge  of  this  vialed  wrath  of  God  that 
is  aimed  at  the  great  antagonist  will  reach  him  by  coursing 
symbolically  through  the  figures  which  he  has  evolved.  Let 
the  reader  study  the  seven  paragraphs  of  the  exponent  at  the 
head  of  this  Trilogy  until  he  fully  grasps  the  fact  that  its  fifth 
paragraph,  which  relates  to  the  pouring  out  of  the  final  cup 
of  the  vialed  wrath  of  God,  deals  only  with  Babylon  as  divided 
into  three  parts.  There  is  no  more  wine  to  pour  out  when  the 
seventh  vial  is  emptied,  for  the  throne  itself  attests  the  fact 
that  *'it  is  done." 

No  exponential  voicing  follows  with  respect  to  either  the 
fall  of  the  beast  or  the  destruction  of  the  dragon.  All  the 
three  parts  of  the  great  city  are  Babylon,  and  all  simultane- 
ously crash  to  ruin.  The  two  phases  which  follow  without 
exponent  do  so  because  of  the  physical  impossibility  of  throw- 
ing them  upon  the  screen  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  occupied 
with  the  scenic  fall  of  the  great  city  as  a  whole.  When  these 
points  are  grasped  it  is  hardly  possible  not  to  see  the  beautiful 
symmetry  of  this  retributive  section.  There  are  not  three 
great  universal,  and  sequent,  conflicts  with  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness, with  three  consequent  victories,  and  three  diverse  comings 
of  Christ,  and  three  distinct  judgment  days.  In  order  to  hold 
such  a  view  we  must  take  leave  of  rational  exposition,  as  we 
must  outrage  the  rigid  law  that  governs  the  enunciation  of 


348  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  symbolism  from  beginning  to  end.  If  such  a  condition  as 
ensues  in  the  fall  of  Babylon  were  not  sufficient  to  end  the 
great  struggle  it  would  seem  that  when  this  adverse  coalition 
had  met  the  diademed  Christ,  upon  the  great  field  where  the 
charge  of  his  white-robed  legions  ends  the  career  of  the  beast 
and  false  prophet  and  sends  them  to  the  pit,  ending  all  remain- 
ing opposition  by  the  sharp  thrust  of  the  Pneumatophanic 
sword,  it  would  certainly  suggest  the  end  of  all  opposition 
to  Christ  by  the  kingdoms  of  this  world.  But  in  the  popular 
view  such  is  not  the  case.  Satan  is  now  chained  for  a  thousand 
years  in  the  bottomless  pit,  breaks  out,  or  rather  is  loosed, 
takes  the  field,  and  in  a  trice  has  the  nations,  that  Christ  has 
ruled  for  a  thousand  years,  in  open  rebellion  against  him  and 
more  terribly  deceived  than  they  ever  were  by  either  the  harlot 
or  the  beast  and  false  prophet;  for  he  masses  these  nations 
of  the  millennium  as  the  sands  of  the  seashore  and  strikes 
at  the  throne  once  again.    This  is  not  exposition ;  it  is  lunacy. 

Babylon  Confronted  by  the  Angel  of  the 
Pneumatophany 
"And  after  these  things  I  saw  another  angel  come  down 
from  heaven;  and  the  earth  was  lightened  with  his  glory. 
And  he  cried  mightily  with  a  strong  voice,  saying,  Babylon 
the  great  is  fallen,  is  fallen,  and  is  become  the  habitation  of 
devils,  and  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  and  a  cage  of  every 
unclean  and  hateful  bird.  For  all  nations  have  drunk  of  the 
wine  of  the  wrath  of  her  fornication,  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth  have  committed  fornication  with  her,  and  the  merchants 
of  the  earth  are  waxed  rich  through  the  abundance  of  her 
deHcacies." 

'  There  is  but  one  angel  whose  glory  is  so  great  that  it  can 
light  up  the  darkness  of  a  lost  world,  and  that  is  this  mys- 
terious Angel  of  Jesus  Christ  who  here,  in  slightly  metamor- 
phic  phase,  stands  forth  again  as  the  Angel  of  the  Pneuma- 
tophany.    The  consistency  of  his  presence  here  will  become 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  349 

apparent  as  we  proceed.  When  we  contemplate  the  trinitarian 
features  of  the  preceding  major  sections  of  the  book  it  would 
certainly  be  an  occasion  of  surprise,  and  would  powerfully 
discount  the  fundamental  principles  of  this  exposition,  did 
we  not  at  this  point  meet  with  this  sublime  figure  of  the  Angel 
of  the  Pneumatophany.  It  will  be  observed  that  we  arrive  at 
the  conclusion,  as  we  demonstrate  his  presence  in  the  opening 
trinitarian  utterances  of  the  book,  by  the  law  of  association 
or  exclusion.  In  the  second  section  of  the  Trilogy  the  figure 
which  there  confronts  the  allied  powers  of  evil  is  unquestion- 
ably the  militant  Christ  in  his  royalistic  character.  In  the  third 
section  it  is  the  fire  that  falls  "from  God  out  of  heaven"  that 
consumes  them.  Therefore,  by  these  two  inductive  index  fingers 
pointing  backward,  we  are  apprised  of  the  presence  of  the 
Eternal  Spirit  as  the  Victor  over  great  Babylon. 

As  we  behold  this  sublime  effulgence  of  his  glory,  that 
illumines  the  darkened  world,  dull  indeed  are  our  eyes  that 
we  have  not  recognized  him.  The  incongruity  of  the  plan 
that  fully  determines  the  principle  that  two  persons  of  the 
Trinity  deal  in  succession  with  the  beast  and  the  dragon,  while 
in  this  leading  section  we  have  only  an  angel  standing  in  the 
great  world-avenues  where  the  most  signal  display  of  the 
retributive  vengeance  falls,  long  ere  this  ought  to  have  brought 
us  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  significance  of  this  figure. 
Again,  it  will  be  observed  in  connection  with  this  figure  that 
there  is  no  confusing  of  the  lines  with  respect  to  trinitarian 
office.  That  of  the  Holy  Ghost  does  not  call  for  nor  admit 
of  the  pouring  out  of  the  retributive  wrath  of  God  through 
him.  It  is  not  his  province  to  wield  the  thunderbolts  nor  to 
tread  the  great  wine  press.  He  was  divinely  given  to  convict 
of  sin,  righteousness,  and  judgment.  He  simply  magnifies 
his  office  here  in  the  brilliance  of  a  light  that  blinds  and  of  a 
heat  that  scorches,  while  great  Babylon  contemns  and  blas- 
phemes— a  blasphemy  that  may  never  find  forgiveness,  as  it  is 
against  the  Holy  Ghost. 


350  The  Last  AIessage  of  Jesus  Christ 

He  now  lifts  his  voice  and  in  solemn  tones  bears  witness 
against  the  great  harlot  and  pronounces  her  doom.  Fallen, 
fallen  is  Babylon  the  great.  She  has  become  the  habitation 
of  demons,  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit,  and  the  cage  of  every 
unclean  and  hateful  bird.  Demons,  foul  spirits,  and  unclean 
and  hateful  birds — three  counts  which  determine  her  lapsed 
spiritual  condition.  She  has  sown  to  the  flesh,  and  her  harvest 
is  corruption.  She  has  grieved  and  quenched  the  Eternal 
Spirit,  and  there  is  nothing  left  for  him  to  do  but  pronounce 
her  awful  doom. 

The  Threnody 

Though  this  world-illumining  angel  is  dignified  with  the 
leading  position  in  this  retributive  scene,  yet  we  find  that 
he  is  supported  by  a  voice  from  heaven,  which  is  plainly  divine 
and  must  therefore  be  located  as  in  the  throne  of  the  Theoph- 
any,  which  pronounces  the  threnody,  and  an  executive  angel, 
who  characteristically  hurls  the  great  harlot  to  destruction. 
As  the  judgment  executive  is  the  divine  Son,  here  we  plainly 
have  the  manifest  presence  of  the  divine  Three  associate  in 
this  great  crisal  hour  of  Babylon's  doom.  This  throne  voice 
addresses  (i)  the  chosen  people  of  God  under  the  thrall  of 
the  great  city;  (2)  the  kings  of  the  earth;  (3)  the  merchants 
of  the  earth;  (4)  the  merchant  marine;  (5)  the  spirits  of  the 
martyred  dead.  It  will  be  noted  that  each  of  these  points  of 
apostrophe  mystically  touches  familiar  phases  of  the  symbolism. 

(i)  The  Divine  Call  to  Israel 
"And  I  heard  another  voice  from  heaven,  saying,  Come 
forth,  my  people,  out  of  her,  that  ye  have  no  fellowship  with 
her  sins  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues ;  for  her  sins 
have  reached  even  unto  heaven,  and  God  hath  remembered  her 
iniquities.  Render  unto  her  even  as  she  rendered,  and  double 
unto  her  the  double  according  to  her  works :  in  the  cup  which 
she  mingled,  mingle  unto  her  double.  How  much  she  glorified 
herself,  and  waxed  wanton,  so  much  give  her  of  torment  and 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  351 

mourning:  for  she  saith  in  her  heart,  I  sit  a  queen,  and  am  no 
widow,  and  shall  in  no  wise  see  mourning.  Therefore  in  one 
day  shall  her  plagues  come,  death,  and  mourning,  and  famine ; 
and  she  shall  be  utterly  burned  with  fire ;  for  strong  is  the  Lord 
God  which  judged  her." 

It  will  be  noted  that,  though  this  voice  comes  from  heaven, 
it  is  plainly  from  between  the  lightnings  and  the  thunders. 
Its  command,  ''Come  out  of  her,  my  people,"  plainly  stamps  it 
as  divine,  while  its  reference  to  God  as  fully  determines  the 
Personality  whose  utterance  it  is. 

Two  most  important  facts  are  disclosed:  (i)  the  chosen 
people,  recognized  as  with  the  Lamb  at  17.  14,  and  upon  the 
mount,  and  who  again  will  follow  him  in  the  great  Arma- 
geddon, are  within  the  domain  of  the  great  city,  and  are  to 
be  called  out  ere  the  judgment  of  God  descends;  (2)  they  are 
the  chosen  agents  who  will  execute  the  judgment  that  has 
been  thus  pronounced,  their  office  being  shown  to  be  clearly 
cooperative  with  that  of  the  kings  whose  love  for  the  harlot 
has  turned  to  hatred,  and  who  wreak  vengeance  upon  her. 

This  divine  command  has  occasioned  some  perplexity,  caus- 
ing some  to  ask.  Is  it  possible  that  God  really  has  a  people 
within  the  thrall  of  this  great  city?  Christian  charity,  in  the 
main,  has  answered.  Yes,  holding  that  there  are  doubtless 
many  who  have  been  deceived  by  the  great  sorceress,  who  are 
not  in  sympathy  with  her  practices,  and  who  at  heart  are  true 
disciples  of  Christ.  While  this  may  be  admitted,  yet  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  the  prophets  everywhere  identify  this  con- 
quering host  as  the  Israel  of  God,  scattered  universally  through- 
out this  great  Babylon  in  the  day  of  the  punitive  dispensation 
in  which  they  expiate  their  sin.  Israel  was  thus  given  the  lot 
of  a  divorced  woman,  or  widow,  but  this  great  mass  of  cor- 
ruption vauntingly  claims  what  Israel  has  lost.  She  is  a  queen, 
and  not  a  widow.  She  holds  the  first  place  in  the  affections 
of  Jehovah.  The  divine  voice  utters  its  dissent  in  four  sharp 
commands  to  his  people :  "(i)Reward  her  as  she  hath  rewarded 


352  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

you;  (2)  double  unto  her  double,  according  to  her  works; 
(3)  in  the  cup  that  she  hath  filled,  fill  to  her  double ;  (4)  in  the 
measure  that  she  hath  glorified  herself,  and  lived  deliciously, 
so  much  torment  and  sorrow  give  her."  The  symbohsm 
here  plainly  reverts  to  the  fall  of  literal  Babylon  of  the  proph- 
ets. Ere  she  was  whelmed  by  the  coming  storm  a  like  call 
resounds  through  the  fated  city,  addressed  to  the  captives 
whom  she  had  carried  from  the  land  of  Israel.  Jeremiah 
delivers  the  message :  ''My  people,  go  ye  out  of  the  midst 
of  her,  and  deliver  ye  every  man  his  soul  from  the  fierce  anger 
of  the  Lord"  (chapter  51.  45).  This  call  was  therefore  not 
addressed  to  the  slavish  idolaters,  however  sincere,  but  to  men 
like  Daniel,  the  Hebrew  children,  and  those  who  wept  by  the 
rivers  of  Babylon  and  hung  their  harps  upon  the  willows, 
refusing  to  sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a  strange  land.  There 
can  be  no  question,  therefore,  with  respect  to  the  base  of  the 
imagery  here  introduced;  it  referred  to  Israel,  destined  to 
be  delivered  in  connection  with  the  overthrow  of  the  great 
city ;  and,  whatever  the  sense  that  is  conceived  to  be  embodied 
in  the  figure,  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  fact  that  the 
people  here  referred  to,  as  called  out  of  the  domain  of  the 
harlot  ere  the  fires  of  the  eternal  burnings  are  let  loose  upon 
her,  the  apocalyptic  symbolism  characteristically  presents  as 
the  captive  Israel  of  God,  to  whom  the  divine  pledge  had  been 
repeatedly  given  of  rising  again  in  triumph  over  the  oppressive 
Gentile  regime  that  had  trampled  them  and  their  kingdom  in 
the  dust.  If  anyone  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  into  the 
biblical  uses  of  the  phrase  "my  people,"  past,  present,  and 
future,  he  can  hardly  fail  of  being  impressed  with  the  beautiful 
consistency  that  is  here  in  evidence.  One  passage,  taken  at 
random  from  Isaiah,  will  serve  to  show  how  inseparable,  from 
the  prophetic  standpoint,  was  this  conception  of  the  triumph  of 
Israel,  in  the  coming  Messianic  day :  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass 
in  that  day,  that  the  Lord  shall  set  his  hand  again  the  second 
time  to  recover  the  remnant  of  his  people,  which  shall  be  left, 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  353 

from  Assyria,  and  from  Egypt,  and  from  Pathros,  and  from 
Ciish,  and  from  Elam,  and  from  Shinar,  and  from  the  islands 
of  the  sea  [the  universal  seven].  And  he  shall  set  up  an  ensign 
for  the  nations  [Gentiles],  and  shall  assemble  the  outcasts  of 
Israel,  and  gather  together  the  dispersed  of  Judah  from  the 
four  corners  of  the  earth"  (Isa.  11.  11,  12).  The  fact  that 
Israel,  as  the  remnant  of  his  people,  are  assembled  from  these 
seven  points  is  evidence  of  a  mystic  sense  in  Isaiah  that  squares 
with  this  of  the  Apocalypse.  The  progressive  order  of  this 
Messianic  work  of  restoration  is  instructive :  ( i )  An  ensign 
is  set  up  for  the  Gentiles;  (2)  the  outcasts  of  Israel,  scat- 
tered to  these  seven  points,  are  assembled,  and  (3)  the  dis- 
persed of  Judah  are  gathered  from  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth.  This  trine  division,  here  so  clearly  marked,  evidences 
the  fact  that  these  segregate  lines  will  be  evident  in  the  Mes- 
sianic age.  Thus  the  Apocalypse  sustains  the  prophets  and  the 
utterances  of  the  New  Testament  with  respect  to  the  ''times 
of  the  Gentiles."  The  fact  has  not  been  forgotten  that  the 
divine  seal  has  been  placed  upon  the  forehead  of  Israel  and 
that  its  holy  city  is  to  be  trodden  under  foot  only  for  the 
limited  period  of  an  apocalyptic  half-seven  (see  Isa.  chapters 

13.  14). 

It  was  more  than  a  thousand  years  after  Isaiah's  time  before 
the  prophecy  he  uttered  with  respect  to  the  destruction  of 
literal  Babylon  was  fulfilled  and  the  great  city  left  to  the 
bittern,  the  satyr,  and  the  doleful  creatures  of  the  desert;  so 
that  for  centuries  the  spot  where  the  proud  city  once  stood 
became  one  of  the  problems  of  the  uninhabited  wilderness  of 
Mesopotamia.  If  the  whole  of  Jer.  50  and  51  be  carefully 
read  in  this  connection  the  latter-day  Messianic  significance 
of  much  of  this  Babylonian  imagery  will  hardly  fail  of 
impressing  the  reader  with  the  evident  fact  of  intended 
correlation. 

With  this  introductory  paragraph  placed  in  position,  next 
we  have  the  threnic  dirge  that  follows  great  Babylon's  fall. 


354  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  picture  that  is  presented  is  that  of  a  whole  world  in 
flames,  for  the  great  city  spreads  itself  over  the  whole  globe: 
governmentally,  it  sits  upon  its  seven  mountains;  ecclesi- 
astically, as  situate  upon  its  many  waters,  and  as  defended 
and  supported  by  its  ten  fierce  horns,  the  symbol  of  the  uni- 
versal world-power,  and  with  the  quadrate  of  humanity  in  its 
thrall.  Thus  the  great  universals  of  the  Apocalypse  are  all 
massed  in  this  culminating  characterization  that  now  rises  be- 
fore us  in  the  field  of  vision.  The  Eternal  Spirit  has  pro- 
nounced the  knell  of  doom,  the  Eternal  Throne  has  also  spoken, 
and  the  fires  burst  forth  and  the  roar  of  the  surging  flames 
reverberates  through  the  whole  earth  as  they  lick  up  great 
Babylon's  thrones  and  palaces.  And  now  a  mighty  wailing, 
as  from  lost  spirits  in  the  outer  darkness,  breaks  in  upon  the 
fearful  scene. 

(2)  Throneless  Kings  in  Mourning 
"And  the  kings  of  the  earth,  who  have  committed  fornica- 
tion and  lived  deliciously  with  her,  shall  bewail  her,  and  lament 
for  her,  when  they  shall  see  the  smoke  of  her  burning,  standing 
afar  off  for  the  fear  of  her  torment,  saying,  Woe,  woe,  the 
great  city,  the  mighty  city !  for  in  one  hour  is  thy  judgment 
come." 

It  is  not  for  scenic  embellishment,  deftly  introduced  to  inten- 
sify the  crisal  character  of  this  fearful  hour  of  doom,  that 
this  threnic  strain  comes  rolling  in  from  these  triangular 
points  in  the  outer  darkness  that  envelops  the  fated  city.  It 
is  rather  that  proper  recognition  may  be  given  to  the  struc- 
tural lines  which  have  divided  the  great  city  into  three  parts. 
Behind  these  ''kings,"  "merchants,"  and  "mariners,"  if  our 
ears  are  acute,  we  may  hear  a  voicing  from  each  of  these  parts 
into  which  the  great  earthquake  shook  the  great  harlot.  The 
coincidence  of  this  threnic  wailing  is  established  by  the  fact 
that  its  theme  is  in  each  case  the  same — the  burning  city. 
In  the  terse  language  of  symbol  it  tells  us  that  the  whole 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  355 

great  aggregation  of  the  Satanic  empire  on  earth  crashes  to 
ruin  simultaneously  in  the  fall  of  this  great  universal  city. 

The  leading  threnodists  are  "the  kings  of  the  earth,"  or  the 
ten  horns  that  ever  wore  the  diadems.  If  we  retrace  the  lines 
of  development  that  have  marked  the  progressive  unfolding 
of  this  symbol  it  will  lead  us  back  to  the  initial  personification 
of  the  power  of  the  dragon.  These  ten  horns  are  all  upon 
his  head  as  he  stands  disclosed  before  the  sun-clad  woman, 
though  not  as  yet  diademed.  As  they  pass  to  the  heads  of  the 
beast  they  signify  the  Satanic  endowment  of  power  and  great 
authority,  and  as  they  now  appear,  as  distinct  personal  thren- 
odists, they  in  a  mystic  sense  embody  the  personality  of  the 
dragon  himself.  They  gave  themselves  to  the  service  of  the 
beast,  obeyed  the  will  of  the  false  prophet,  and  were  the  lictors 
that  hedged  the  debauch  of  the  great  whore.  They  are  not 
conceptually  the  same  kings  that  finally  strip  the  harlot  and 
burn  her  with  fire,  but  those  who  have  lived  deliciously  with  her, 
that  long  line  of  inhuman  tyrants  who  have  shared  her  orgies 
of  lust  and  blood,  whose  voices  are  conceptually  lifted  here 
as  the  leading  threnodists  of  this,  to  them,  most  mournful 
occasion.  With  great  Babylon's  departing  glory  their  usurped 
diadems  also  fall.  We  shall  next  behold  them  upon  the  brow 
of  the  mighty  Victor  who  will  wear  them  forever.  Under  the 
sixth  seal,  where  this  same  great  day  of  doom  arises  before 
us,  these  kings  are  introduced  as  the  leaders  not  of  a  choral 
dirge,  but  of  a  great  universal  prayer  meeting  whose  chief 
burden,  in  the  presence  of  the  vanishing  universe  and  the 
blazing  wrath  of  the  Lamb,  is  "Mountains  and  rocks,  fall  on 
us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face  of  him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb;  for  the  great  day 
of  his  wrath  is  come,  and  who  shall  be  able  to  stand?"  These 
two  conceptions  of  these  kings  are  given  In  the  exponential 
voicing  at  the  head  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany,  which 
includes  this  scene  now  before  us,  as  "the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  are  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ." 


35<J  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

(3)  The  Great  Mercantile  Black  Friday 
"And  the  merchants  of  the  earth  shall  weep  and  mourn  over 
her;  for  no  man  buyeth  their  merchandise  any  more:  their 
merchandise  of  gold,  and  silver,  and  precious  stones,  and  of 
pearls,  and  fine  linen,  and  scarlet,  and  all  thyine  wood,  and  all 
manner  vessels  of  ivory,  and  all  manner  vessels  of  most  pre- 
cious wood,  and  of  brass,  and  iron,  and  marble,  and  cinnamon, 
and  odors,  and  incense,  and  ointment,  and  frankincense,  and 
wine,  and  oil,  and  fine  flour,  and  wheat,  and  cattle,  and  sheep, 
and  horses,  and  chariots,  and  slaves,  and  souls  of  men.  And 
the  fruits  that  thy  soul  lusted  after  are  departed  from  thee,  and 
all  things  which  were  dainty  and  goodly  are  departed  from 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  find  them  no  more  at  all.  The  merchants 
of  these  things,  who  were  made  rich  by  her,  shall  stand  afar 
ofif  for  the  fear  of  her  torment,  weeping  and  wailing,  and 
saying,  Woe,  woe,  the  great  city,  that  was  clothed  in  fine  linen, 
and  purple,  and  scarlet,  and  decked  with  gold,  and  precious 
stones,  and  pearls !  For  in  one  hour  so  great  riches  is  made 
desolate." 

If  we  will  revert  to  chapter  13,  where  the  therionic  sym- 
bolism is  developed,  we  may  see  this  great  stock  and  produce 
exchange  in  the  midst  of  its  most  successful  operations.  The 
structural  position  which  these  merchants  thus  take,  as  sequent 
to  the  horns,  is  clearly  with  the  apparent  design  of  expressing 
continuity.  The  great  and  dominating  king  of  all  trusts  and 
boycotting  organizations,  who  controls  and  directs  operations 
here,  is  the  two-horned  beast  which  arose  from  the  earth; 
otherwise  the  false  prophet  whose  imperial  dictum  is — the 
mark  of  the  beast,  or  death :  "And  he  causeth  all,  both  small 
and  great,  rich  and  poor,  free  and  bond,  to  receive  a  mark 
in  their  right  hand,  or  in  their  foreheads :  and  no  man  might 
buy  or  sell,  save  he  that  had  the  mark,  or  the  name  of  the 
beast,  or  the  number  of  his  name." 

They  are  therefore  the  servile  constituency  whom  he  has 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  357 

deceived,  and  who  worship  at  the  shrine  of  the  image  into 
which  he  has  breathed  of  his  Hfe.  They  are  now  brought 
forward,  into  this  final  retributive  scene,  as  one  of  the  trine 
parts  of  the  great  city.  Thus  the  universal  constituency  of 
the  false  prophet  are  here  shown  to  have  been  as  indissolubly 
joined  to  the  regime  of  the  great  whore  as  to  that  of  the  beast, 
who  primarily  sets  his  brand  upon  them.  Their  voicing,  as 
it  comes  from  the  second  of  these  triangular  points,  presents 
convincing  proof  of  the  fact  that  the  second  phase  of  the 
Trilogy  cannot  be  otherwise  than  an  inclusion  of  this  great 
crisal  hour.  It  is  the  one  great  hour  for  the  whole  of  this 
antitrinitarian  coalition.  All  phases  of  imposture,  fraud,  apos- 
tasy, and  corruption  disclosed  in  the  symbolism  of  the  beast 
are  present  as  intensified  in  that  of  the  harlot.  His  kings  and 
merchants  are  hers,  and  in  the  marts  of  the  great  city  all 
trade  under  the  one  exclusive  union  label.  He  deceives  the 
whole  world  by  fraud  and  imposture,  she  by  her  sorceries  and 
the  maddening  cup  of  the  filthiness  of  her  fornication.  She 
is  a  habitation  of  devils ;  the  dragon  dwells  in  him,  speaks 
through  him,  and  devil-spirits  issue  from  his  mouth.  He  has 
slaughtered  the  saints  throughout  the  whole  earth;  she  has 
quaffed  the  blood  of  the  prophets  and  apostles  and  is  held 
responsible  for  every  drop  that  has  ever  reddened  the  great 
altar.  Her  hold  of  foul  spirits  and  cage  of  unclean  and 
hateful  birds  are  easily  filled  by  him.  These  holds!  these 
cages!  Turn  your  eyes  to  the  monasteries,  convents,  and 
nunneries  of  Rome.  Cages  indeed ;  against  whose  strong  bars 
birds  clean  and  unclean  beat  their  wings  in  vain.  Think  of  the 
Alvas,  Torquemadas,  Philips,  and  Borgias,  and  a  picture  rises 
that  fully  meets  the  demands  of  the  symbols  here  presented. 
These  merchants  lament  because  their  traffic  has  ended  for- 
ever. There  will  be  no  new  lease  of  power  when  the  smoke 
of  burning  Babylon  shall  have  cleared  away.  It  will  never 
clear  away.  It  riseth  up  forever  and  ever,  and  no  man  buyeth 
their  merchandise  any  more.    The  fact  that  all  the  blood  ever 


358  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

shed  upon  the  earth  is  now  found  staining  the  scarlet  robes 
of  the  great  harlot  is  sufficient  assurance  that  no  more  blood 
will  be  shed.  In  this  Black  Friday  the  doors  of  this  great 
exchange  are  closed  forever. 

(4)  The  Wail  of  the  Merchant  Marine 
''And  every  shipmaster,  and  all  the  company  in  ships,  and 
sailors,  and  as  many  as  trade  by  sea,  stood  afar  off,  and  cried 
when  they  saw  the  smoke  of  her  burning,  saying.  What  city  is 
like  unto  this  great  city !  And  they  cast  dust  on  their  heads, 
and  cried,  weeping  and  wailing,  saying.  Woe,  woe,  that  great 
city,  wherein  were  made  rich  all  that  had  ships  in  the  sea 
by  reason  of  her  costliness!  for  in  one  hour  is  she  made 
desolate." 

This  third  threnic  strain  rolling  in  from  the  sea  presents 
the  final  strophe  of  this  choral  dirge.  The  sea  itself  is  one 
of  the  great  factors  of  the  book.  It  was  into  the  sea  that  the 
great  fire-mountain  plunged.  Out  of  its  crimsoned  depths 
arose  the  great  seven-headed  therion.  Under  the  second  vial 
discharge  it  became  as  the  blood  of  a  dead  man.  Beneath  its 
waves  Babylon  will  now  be  characteristically  hurled,  Hke  a 
great  millstone,  to  disappear  from  sight  forever.  Upon  this 
sea  float  great  Babylon's  argosies.  Upon  its  many  waters 
Babylon  herself  is  situated.  This  fact  is  stated  by  the  inter- 
preting angel  thus:  "The  waters  which  thou  sawest,  where 
the  whore  sitteth,  are  peoples,  and  multitudes,  and  nations, 
and  tongues."  A  reflex  of  this  fact  may  be  seen  in  the  quar- 
tette of  the  dirge — "shipmasters,  company  in  ships,  sailors, 
and  as  many  as  trade  by  sea."  In  this  quadrate  voicing  the 
threnody  rises  to  universal  proportions.  The  thrall  of  the 
earth  by  the  dragon  has  ended  forever.  The  great  world- 
empire  of  the  beast  also  passes  away,  and  the  bloody  career 
of  the  great  apostate  terminates  in  the  smoke  of  her  torment, 
which  will  rise  up  forever  and  ever. 

As  points  of  especial  interest  attention  may  be  directed  to 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  359 

the  fact  that  each  section  of  threnodists  accentuates  the  an- 
gehc  ''Fallen,  fallen,  is  Babylon,"  with  its  "Woe,  woe,"  and 
that  each  recognizes  the  simultaneousness  of  the  hour  of  this 
tripartite  fall.  Again,  progressive  phases  may  be  noted  in  the 
fact  that  in  the  first  instance  it  is  the  hour  of  judgment,  in  the 
second  the  hour  when  material  riches  become  valueless,  and  in 
the  third  the  hour  when  desolation  ensues.  With  this  threnic 
voicing  ended  music  is  called  for  from  three  points  of 
antithesis. 

(5)  The  Antiphony  of  the  Skies 
"Rejoice  over  her,  thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy  apostles  and 
prophets;  for  God  hath  avenged  you  on  her." 
,  As  great  Babylon  is  here  divided  into  three  sections,  so  the 
antiphony  called  for  assumes  the  same  form.  It  is  the  martyr 
spirits  under  the  great  red  altar  whom  the  divine  voice  now 
calls  upon  for  action — the  saints,  apostles,  and  prophets ;  those 
who  cried,  "How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not 
avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?"  They 
have  obeyed  the  divine  command,  waited  until  the  last  drop  of 
martyr  blood  has  been  shed,  and  now  they  hear  the  voice  from 
the  throne  calling  upon  them  to  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  God 
hath  avenged  them  upon  the  great  harlot.  It  is  significant 
here  that,  though  this  victor  anthem  is  called  for,  it  is  arrested 
by  the  introduction  of  a  new  factor  into  the  scene.  This  burst 
of  heavenly  joy  can  wait  until  the  great  executive  of  the 
Trinity  shall  have  appeared  upon  the  scene  and  in  a  symbolic 
manner  hurled  the  great  harlot  beneath  the  waves  of  the  sea. 
The  action  is  significant.  It  was  out  of  the  sea  that  this  great 
usurping  world-power  arose,  it  was  upon  its  waters  that 
the  great  sorceress  sat  in  the  pride  of  her  power,  and  it  is 
beneath  the  waves  of  the  sea  that  she  sinks  into  oblivion. 
The  great  quadrate  of  humanity  has  been  delivered  from  her 
thrall  forever. 


360  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

(6)  The  Mighty  Executive  and  the  Great  Millstone 
"And  a  mighty  angel  took  up  a  stone  like  a  great  millstone, 
and  cast  it  into  the  sea,  saying,  Thus  with  violence  shall  that 
great  city  Babylon  be  thrown  down,  and  shall  be  found  no 
more  at  all.  And  the  voice  of  (i)  harpers,  and  (2)  musicians, 
and  of  (3)  pipers,  and  (4)  trumpeters,  shall  be  heard  no  more 
at  all  in  thee;  and  no  (i)craftsman,  of  whatsoever  craft  he 
be,   shall  be   found  any  more  in  thee;   and  the  sound  of  a 

(2)  millstone  shall  be  heard  no  more  at  all  in  thee;  and  the 

(3)  hght  of  a  candle  shall  shine  no  more  at  all  in  thee;  and 
the  (4)  voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride  shall  be  heard 
no  more  at  all  in  thee :  for  thy  ( i )  merchants  were  the  great 
men  of  the  earth;  for  by  thy  (2)  sorceries  were  all  nations- 
deceived.  And  in  her  was  found  the  (3)  blood  of  prophets, 
and  of  saints,  and  of  all  that  have  been  slain  upon  the  earth." 

As  we  reach  the  culminating  point  of  this  retributive  scene 
the  mighty  Executive  takes  the  terminal  position  and,  with 
most  impressive  act,  hurls  great  Babylon  to  her  awful  doom, 
and  then,  in  like  characteristic  strain  as  those  which  have 
preceded,  he  rolls  the  waves  of  oblivion  over  the  devoted 
city. 

Having  identified  the  dignified  figure  at  the  head  of  this 
judgment  section  as  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  central  voicing 
as  proceeding  from  the  throne  of  the  Theophany,  the  divine 
Personality  of  the  mighty  angel  now  before  us  so  stands  out 
in  the  clear  that  we  can  hardly  mistake  him  were  he  not  fully 
identified  by  the  characteristic  executive  action  which  he  per- 
forms. The  utterance  of  mysticism  here  is  simply  the  reflex 
of  the  clearest  and  most  emphatic  statements  of  the  Word  of 
God.  All  judgment  has  been  committed  to  the  Son.  It  is 
he  that  "shall  be  revealed  from  heaven  with  the  angels  of  his 
power,  in  flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know 
not  God,  and  that  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ"  (2  Thess.  I.  7,  8).    When  the  Son  of  man  shall  come 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  361 

in  his  glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  him,  then  he  shall 
sit  upon  the  throne  of  his  glory:  and  before  him  shall  be 
gathered  all  nations:  and  he  shall  separate  them  one  from 
another,  as  a  shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats :  and 
he  shall  set  the  sheep  on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on  the 
left.  Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on  his  right  hand. 
Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared 
for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  .  .  .  Then  shall 
he  say  unto  them  also  on  the  left  hand.  Depart  from  me,  ye 
cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels.  .  .  .  And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment: but  the  righteous  into  Hfe  eternal"  (Matt.  25.  31-46). 

The  reader  may  note  that  the  category  of  privation  breaks 
into  three  sections :  two  quadrates  and  a  triad.  When  the  fires 
of  judgment  are  let  loose  upon  Babylon  there  will  be  the 
universal  cessation  of  all  music.  The  weeping  and  wailing 
and  the  gnashing  of  teeth,  so  frequently  alluded  to  in  connec- 
tion with  the  retributive  parables  of  the  gospel,  here  have  their 
echo  in  the  wailing  of  these  threnodists.  Not  only  will  all 
music  cease,  but  no  craftsman's  skill  will  ever  be  called  into 
exercise ;  no  sound  of  the  millstone  will  ever  be  heard ;  not 
even  the  light  of  a  candle  will  ever  shine  to  light  up  the  deso- 
lation of  her  palaces ;  and  no  bridal  joys  will  ever  come  to  the 
harlot.  They  belong  to  the  other  side  of  the  picture.  The 
reader  will  note  the  terminal  coincidence  of  the  figure.  The 
triad  simply  states  three  facts :  her  merchants  were  the  princes 
of  the  earth,  all  nations  were  deceived  by  her  sorceries,  and 
the  blood  of  all  the  slain  was  found  in  her. 

(7)  The  Contrastive  Joy  of  the  Heavenly  World 
"After  these  things  T  heard  as  it  were  a  great  voice  of  a 
great  multitude  in  heaven,  saying,  Hallelujah;  salvation  and 
glory  and  power  belong  to  our  God:  for  true  and  righteous 
are  his  judgments ;  for  he  hath  judged  the  great  harlot,  which 
did  corrupt  the  earth  zuith  her  fornication,  and  hath  avenged 


362  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  blood  of  his  servants  at  her  hand.  And  a  second  time 
they  say,  Hallelujah.  And  her  smoke  goeth  up  forever  and 
ever.  And  the  four  and  twenty  elders  and  the  four  living 
creatures  fell  down  and  worshiped  God  that  sat  on  the  throne, 
saying,  Amen;  Hallelujah." 

This  burst  of  heavenly  rejoicing  is  that  which  was  called 
for  by  the  voice  from  the  throne  as  the  last  echo  of  the  thren- 
ody dies  away  in  the  midst  of  the  roaring  of  the  flames  of 
the  burning  city.  The  fact  that  it  waits  until  the  end  of  the 
judgment  scene,  and  the  third  of  the  trinitarian  voicings  rele- 
vant to  Babylon's  doom,  gives  us  an  important  feature  which 
anticipates  or  forecasts  the  method  which  will  obtain  with 
respect  to  the  structural  development  of  the  two  remaining 
sections  of  the  Trilogy.  They  in  the  same  manner  arrest  the 
symbolism  of  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb,  simply  presenting 
the  story  of  each  of  the  remaining  parts  of  the  great  city. 

This  heavenly  rapture  which  now  breaks  upon  our  ears 
comes  from  prophets,  apostles,  and  the  martyred  saints  of  all 
the  ages,  a  great  multitude  whom  no  man  could  number,  who 
out  of  humanity's  great  quadrate  came  up  through  the  great 
tribulation  and  washed  their  robes  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb.  They  cried  for  vengeance  ere  the  white  robes  were 
given,  and  then  patiently  waited  until  the  great  harlot  had 
ended  her  debauch  of  blood.  They  were  commanded  to  wait 
until  the  holocaust  should  end  and  the  martyr  host  be  made 
complete.  They  here,  by  their  rapturous  rejoicing,  attest  the 
fact  that  this  judgment  upon  the  great  harlot  is  not  of  limited 
scope,  but  fully  avenges  every  drop  of  blood  ever  shed  in  the 
earth.  It  not  only  whelms  the  great  world-city  but  also  the 
great  world-power  that  shared  in  her  wild  course  of  sin,  and 
the  dragon  himself,  against  whom  the  final  retributive  vial  was 
aimed;  for  Satan  himself,  as  well  as  his  "devils,"  cannot  be 
otherwise  than  involved  in  the  judgment  of  Babylon.  The 
fire  burning  here  is  "everlasting  fire" ;  it  was  this  that  was 
prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels  (Matt.  25.  41). 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  363 

It  is  to  be  especially  noted  here  that  the  dual  emphasis  that 
appears  in  the  angelic  announcement  of  Babylon's  doom,  and 
in  the  thrice-repeated  "Woe,  woe,"  of  the  threnody,  finds 
antithetic  expression  in  the  double  "Hallelujah"  of  this  trium- 
phant paean.  The  punctuation  mark  is  now  placed  in  position, 
and  the  scene  of  retributive  vengeance  ends.  At  the  close 
of  the  creational  scene  the  elders  fell  before  the  throne  in 
worship;  at  the  close  of  the  redemptorial  scene  both  elders 
and  zoa  present  their  significant  voicing.  The  zoa  simply 
said,  "Amen,"  while  the  elders  fell  down  and  worshiped  him 
that  liveth  forever  and  ever.  Both  elders  and  zoa  now  fall 
before  the  throne  of  God  in  worship,  the  one  presenting  its 
final  "Amen,"  the  other  its  shout  of  "Hallelujah."  The  previ- 
ous locating  this  "Amen"  upon  the  lips  of  the  zoa  fully  deter- 
mines its  reference  here.  At  the  head  of  the  book  of  the 
Pneumatophany  these  elders  place  its  exponential  voicing  in 
position  in  a  manner  that  fully  certifies  the  fact  that  this  pour- 
ing out  of  the  wine  of  the  wrath  of  God  upon  great  Babylon 
is  associate  with  the  general  judgment  scene.  Let  it  be 
carefully  studied: 

"And  the  four  and  twenty  elders,  which  sat  before  God 
upon  their  thrones,  fell  upon  their  faces,  and  worshiped  God, 
saying.  We  give  thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God  Almighty,  which 
art,  and  wast,  and  art  to  come;  because  thou  hast  taken  to 
thee  thy  great  power,  and  hast  reigned.  And  the  nations  were 
angry,  and  thy  wrath  is  come,  and  the  time  of  the  dead,  that 
they  should  be  judged,  and  that  thou  shouldest  give  reward 
unto  thy  servants  the  prophets,  and  to  the  saints,  and  to  them 
that  fear  thy  name,  the  small  and  the  great;  and  that  thou 
shouldest  destroy  them  that  destroy  the  earth." 

The  time  is  the  crisal  hour  of  Babylon's  awful  fate.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  in  the  judicial  scene,  in  Matt.  25,  the 
bestowment  of  reward  precedes  the  punishment  of  the  wicked. 
The  same  order  obtains  here,  thus  in  a  structural  sense  deter- 
mining the  fact  that  there  is  studied  precision  in  this  call  for 


364  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

celestial  joy  before  the  scene  of  the  final  plunge  of  great 
Babylon  into  oblivion's  bloody  sea.  The  zoa  in  the  emptying 
of  their  golden  vials  have  executed  the  divine  vengeance  upon 
sin.  They  now  utter  their  solemn  "Amen"  and  pass  out  of  the 
field  of  vision.  The  elders  also  here  pass  from  view  with 
this  shout  of  ''Hallelujah"  upon  their  lips.  Perhaps  we  may 
meet  them  both  again,  transformed  in  the  new  creation. 

The  importance  of  this  Babylonian  section  of  the  Trilogy 
is  such  as  to  suggest  that  the  lines  be  carefully  retraced  here 
ere  we  proceed.  The  correlation  of  structural  features  that 
is  presented  is  simply  masterful — so  delicate,  so  profound, 
that  they  will  escape  us,  perhaps  entirely,  unless  we  have  the 
divinely  quickened  ear  to  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith  unto  the 
churches.  In  the  Pneumatophany  the  mighty  angel  lifts  his 
hand  to  heaven  and  swears,  by  him  that  liveth  forever  and 
ever,  that  time  shall  be  no  longer,  but  that  in  the  time  of  the 
sounding  of  the  seventh  angel  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be 
finished.  We  have  seen  how  the  seventh  vial  takes  up  the 
issues  of  the  seventh  trumpet  for  amplification.  The  angel 
of  the  Pneumatophany  holds  the  leading  position  here  as  at 
the  head  of  his  book,  visibly  manifesting  the  glory  of  Christ 
here  as  there.  If  we  now  follow  closely  the  mathematical  lines 
that  govern  this  great  leading  characterization  of  the  pouring 
out  of  the  wrath  of  God  we  shall  find  them  strangely  reflexive 
of  the  serial  plan  of  the  book. 

For  instance,  the  pronouncement  of  this  leading  figure  is 
found  to  consist  of  a  clearly  defined  quadrate  and  triad,  thus 
making  a  full  seven  and  mystically  denoting  the  completeness 
of  the  characterization  of  the  issues  involved;  thus  the  intro- 
ductory series  of  the  epistles.  The  second  section,  which  gives 
the  Theophanic  voicing,  has  its  introductory  paragraph,  its 
triune  threnody,  and  its  supplemental  psean  of  victory.  The 
third  section  presents  a  peculiarity  in  the  fact  that  it  has  a 
double  quadrate,  clearly  defined,  and  a  single  triad,  the  entire 
section  being  shown  to  be  clearly  parenthetic,  lying  between 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  365 

the  call  for  the  heavenly  paean  of  rejoicing  and  its  actual 
utterance.  Two  of  these  periods — the  quadrates — deal  with 
issues  relevant  to  Babylon,  while  the  triad  relates  to  the  mar- 
tyred saints.  This  structural  fact  forecasts  the  character  of 
the  remaining  sections  of  the  Trilogy.  They  are  to  be  under- 
stood as  parentheses.  This  fact  will  become  whelmingly 
conclusive  as  we  grasp  the  significance  of  the  episode  which 
punctuates  this  Babylonian  section.  Though  the  retributive 
scenery  ends,  the  contrastive  scene  is  now  structurally  due. 
We  find  that  it  is  simply  placed  in  structural  position,  and  then 
this  striking  punctuation  point  is  appended  as  certifying  that 
the  end  has  been  reached.  If  the  reader  will  master  this  fact 
he  will  see  all  shadows  lift  from  this  terminal  point  of  the 

book. 

The  Marriage  of  the  Lamb 

The  Initial  Throne  Voicing 
"And  a  voice  came  forth  from  the  throne,  saying.  Give  praise 
to  our  God,  all  ye  his  servants,  ye  that  fear  him,  the  small 
and  the  great." 

The  Heavenly  Storm  of  Music 
"And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and 
as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thun- 
derings,  saying,  Hallelujah:  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent 
reigneth.  Let  us  be  glad,  and  rejoice,  and  give  honor  to  him: 
for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is  come,  and  his  wife  hath  made 
herself  ready.  And  to  her  was  granted  that  she  should  be 
arrayed  in  fine  linen,  clean  and  white:  for  the  fine  linen  is 
the  righteousness  of  the  saints." 

The  Apocalyptist's  Misdirected  Worship  of  the  Angel 
"And  he  said  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which  are 
called  unto  the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb.  And  he  saith 
unto  me,  These  are  the  true  sayings  of  God.  And  I  fell  at 
his  feet  to  worship  him.    And  he  said  unto  me,  See  thou  do  it 


366  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

not :  for  I  am  thy  fellow  servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  that  have 
the  testimony  of  Jesus:  worship  God:  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy." 

Expositors  make  a  vital  mistake  when  they  construe  this 
voice  from  the  throne  and  these  celestial  voicings  as  a  continu- 
ation of  the  Babylonian  psean  of  rejoicing.  That  ended  with 
the  "Amen"  and  the  "Hallelujah"  of  the  zoa  and  the  elders. 
When  the  panorama  recurs  to  the  throne  we  will  invariably 
find  rising  before  us  the  vista  of  some  new  phase  or  the  solemn 
punctuation  of  a  series  whose  end  has  come.  Here  it  inau- 
gurates this  contrastive  glorious  nuptial  scene. 

We  have  now  reached  the  structural  point  for  the  Intro- 
duction of  the  culminating  antithesis  of  the  book.  It  takes 
the  form  of  this  transcendent  wedding  scene  which  succeeds 
the  terrible  picture  of  retribution  that  has  just  passed  upon 
the  screen.  All  traces  of  the  great  revolt  have  been  swept 
away  forever.  All  the  enemies  of  the  Lamb  have  been  put 
under  his  feet.  The  kingdom  has  been  delivered  up  to  the 
Father,  for  heaven  itself  here  declares  the  fact  in  its  procla- 
mation that  "the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth."  The  last 
sinner  has  been  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  has  put 
on  the  robe  of  white;  otherwise  it  could  not  be  affirmed  by 
these  celestial  voicings  that  she  "hath  made  herself  ready." 
The  contrastive  character  of  this  heavenly  storm  of  praise 
cannot  be  questioned.  It  is  both  visible  and  audible,  as  its 
triune  mighty  thunderings  drown  the  triangular  wail  of  the 
threnody.  This  celestial  storm  of  music  far  exceeds  in  its 
tumultuous  grandeur  anything  ever  heard  before  in  the  heav- 
enly spaces,  as  each  mournful  wail  of  woe  is  answered  by  this 
choral  hallelujah.  Progressive  order  is  evident  in  the  manner 
in  which  this  cyclone  of  harmony  develops  and  proceeds.  We 
may  note  the  fact,  but  who  shall  essay  the  task  of  expounding 
its  glorious  meaning?  (i)  This  chorus  starts  "as  the  voice 
of  a  great  multitude,"  possibly  reverting  to  the  scene  in  the 
book  of  the  Theophany,  where  this  voice  swept  a  hundred 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  "T^C^y 

millions  of  angels  off  their  feet;  then  "as  the  voice  of  many 
waters,"  recurring  to  the  Christophany,  where  this  voice  was 
that  of  the  Christophanic  figure ;  and  lastly  ''as  the  voice  of 
mighty  thunderings,"  which  is  Pneumatophanic  (14.  2).  The 
thunders,  as  has  been  suggested,  vocalize  the  presence  or 
office  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  thus  there  is  given  the  concept  of 
official  association  of  the  Holy  Trinity  itself,  in  this  symphony, 
in  a  manner  that  passes  all  understanding. 

Wedding  scenes  are  occasions  of  festal  joy.  For  lavish  dis- 
play they  usually  eclipse  all  others  ever  witnessed  in  the 
home.  The  wealth  of  paraphernalia,  orange  blossoms,  and 
gems  and  the  splendor  of  environment  and  equipage  are  usu- 
ally limited  only  by  the  ability  of  the  contracting  parties  whose 
nuptials  are  to  be  celebrated.  This  now  before  us  is  the  grand- 
est wedding  ever  to  be  celebrated  in  the  universe  of  God. 
We  may  profitably  linger  here  and  breathe  the  aroma  of  its 
orange  blossoms;  not  alone  that  we  may  be  whelmed  by  the 
splendor  of  the  scene,  but  that  we  may  study  some  of  the 
questions  connected  with  it,  which  are  unquestionably  of  vital 
importance  to  a  correct  understanding  of  the  order  in  which  it 
proceeds. 

There  are  questions  presented  here  which  must  be  settled 
ere  we  advance  to  the  study  of  the  second  and  third  phases  of 
the  Trilogy.  Why  such  a  celebration  as  this  at  this  point, 
involving  the  office  of  each  Person  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and 
which  lets  loose  the  choral  thunders  of  the  heavenly  world? 
The  popular  teaching  here  is  such  as  to  confound  all  analo- 
gies and  violate  all  the  structural  consistencies  that  have 
steadily  guarded  our  approach  to  this  culminating  point  of 
the  symbolism.  The  Bride  hath  made  herself  ready  and  stands 
arrayed  in  her  wedding  robes,  white  and  clean.  We  look  now 
for  the  coming  of  the  celestial  groom.  Instead  we  behold  a 
mighty  militant  Leader  riding  forth  upon  the  field  of  the 
world's  greatest  battlefield,  with  his  garments  dyed  in  blood, 
followed  by  all  the  armies  of  heaven.    In  front  of  him  are  the 


368  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

beast,  false  prophet,  and  these  kings  who  have  just  been 
waiHng  over  the  fall  of  great  Babylon.  Behind  these  combined 
forces  we  have  another  great  Babylon;  for  it  is  world-power, 
spiritual  power,  and  supporting  kings  of  the  earth.  And  the 
carnage  of  the  battle  is  so  great  that  the  blood  rises  to  the 
bridles  of  the  horses.  And  again,  after  both  the  beast  and 
false  prophet  are  taken,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  their 
mighty  men  have  left  their  bones  to  be  picked  by  the  birds 
upon  this  most  sanguinary  field,  this  Bride,  who  has  been  pro- 
claimed as  ready,  must  still  wait  for  at  least  a  thousand  years, 
while  Satan  languishes  in  chains.  Chiliasm,  of  course,  rejects 
this  thought  of  delay,  for  its  ''Bride"  is  only  a  select  few  and 
not  the  great  white-robed  throng  which  is  disclosed  as  stand- 
ing with  the  Lamb  in  triumphant  array  upon  this  great  celestial 
plane.  It  conceives  of  the  Bride  as  ready  while  billions  yet 
unborn  are  still  to  enter  the  arena  of  testing,  if  it  is  possible 
for  such  a  conception  as  testing  to  be  entertained  in  con- 
nection with  the  millennial  reign  of  Christ  upon  the  earth. 
Plainly,  the  Bride,  as  John  saw  her,  was  a  perfect  figure,  a 
massive  cube  of  glory,  let  down  from  the  skies,  from  God 
out  of  heaven,  into  the  New  Creation,  when  this  sin-stained 
world  has  forever  passed  away.  Christ's  Bride  cannot  be 
ready  while  there  remains  one  martyr  yet  to  fall  beneath  the 
great  red  altar,  while  one  robe  yet  remains  to  be  washed  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Why  this  triune  thundering  of  halle- 
lujah, this  pan-uranic  joy,  this  proclamation  by  the  heavenly 
host,  that  "the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth,"  if  yet,  beyond 
the  horizon  of  this  festal  scene,  there  lie  these  two  great  uni- 
versal fields  of  battle?  Surely  the  wedding  cards  of  this  Bride 
are  out  at  least  a  thousand  years  too  soon,  and  during  all  the 
period  of  Satan's  loosing  in  the  earth.  Like  another  Napoleon 
escaped  from  his  Elba,  he  plants  his  feet  securely  upon  this 
earth,  snatches  the  scepter  from  the  hand  of  Christ,  which  he 
has  swayed  over  the  nations  for  a  thousand  years,  and  reduces 
his  dominion  on  the  earth  to  a  "camp"  and  a  "city,"  with  the 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  369 

deceived  nations  as  the  sand  of  the  sea  under  the  banner  of  the 
loosened  devil.  It  is  simply  the  expositors  that  limp  here,  and 
not  the  apocalyptic  symbolism.  There  is  no  delay,  and  no  con- 
fusing anachronism,  when  heaven  itself  proclaims  the  Bride 
to  be  ready.  Babylon's  judgment  and  final  whelming  is  im- 
mediately and  consistently  followed  by  this  most  glorious  con- 
trastive  scene.  Let  it  be  stated  again :  the  inclusion  of  the 
three  phases  of  destruction  under  one  exponent,  as  given  at 
the  head  of  this  grand  division,  fully  determines  the  point,  in 
advance,  that  the  second  and  third  phases  of  the  Trilogy  will 
be  an  inclusion  of  the  great  Babylonian  crisis.  The  vanishing 
of  the  material  universe,  the  general  resurrection  of  the  dead 
and  the  awards  of  the  judgment  day  are  also  to  be  conceived 
as  structurally  coincident  with  great  Babylon's  fall.  The  ex- 
ponents carefully  guard  all  these  phases,  one  of  the  most  strik- 
ing falling  here  as  punctuating  the  structural  epitome  of  the 
marriage  of  the  Lamb.  The  importance  of  this  marking  is 
such  that  the  reader  must  not  fail  of  mastering  its  signifi- 
cance. 

This  angel  that  wears  the  girdle  of  the  Christophany  has 
stood  silent  during  the  time  of  the  passing  of  this  whelming 
panorama  superinduced  by  his  hand.  As  the  echoes  of  these 
mighty  thunderings  die  away,  clearly  giving  to  us  the  sugges- 
tion of  finality,  he  addresses  the  enraptured  seer:  "And  he 
said  unto  me,  Write,  Blessed  are  they  which  are  called  unto 
the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb.  And  he  saith  unto  me" — 
as  though  putting  the  seal  to  his  finished  work — "these  are 
the  true  sayings  of  God."  But  now  a  peculiar  episode  happens. 
The  apocalyptist,  relieved  from  the  strain  of  rapt  contempla- 
tion of  the  panorama,  turns  his  attention  to  this  radiant  angel 
and  prostrates  himself  before  him  in  worship.  The  angel 
quickly  arrests  the  apostle,  in  his  misdirected  devotion,  by 
saying,  "See  thou  do  it  not:  I  am  thy  fellow  servant,  and  of 
thy  brethren  that  have  the  testimony  of  Jesus:  worship  God: 
for  the  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy."    Why 


370  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  introduction  of  this  episode?  Is  it  that  our  curiosity  may 
be  satisfied  by  beholding  the  subjective  effect  of  the  panorama 
upon  the  seer?  Hardly.  The  Apocalypse  has  a  higher  aim 
than  this.  Various  explanations  have  been  given ;  some  fanci- 
ful, others  perhaps  v^ith  an  approach  toward  the  truth. 
Some  behold  in  the  angel's  act  a  most  striking  interdiction 
of  that  universally  prevalent  idolatrous  w^orship  of  saints, 
angels,  and  the  virgin  within  the  pale  of  apostate  Rome.  This 
angel  who  wears  the  golden  circlet  of  the  Christophany  quickly 
rejects  the  proffered  worship,  in  the  words,  **See  thou  do  it 
not."  Not  so  prelate  and  pontiff  of  Rome.  Here  the  com- 
mand is,  *'See  thou  do  it."  Down  in  the  dust  before  the  pur- 
ple and  scarlet,  and  abjectly  before  the  papal  white.  The 
Pope  accepts  with  complacency  what  Peter  himself  would 
not.  When  Cornelius  fell  down  at  his  feet  in  worship  he  was 
quick  to  rebuke  the  act,  as  was  this  angel,  lifting  him  to  his 
feet  and  saying,  ''Stand  up ;  I  myself  also  am  a  man."  But 
not  so  the  Pope;  he  is  more  than  man.  He  sitteth  in  the 
temple  of  God,  showing  himself  that  he  is  God,  and  accepts 
without  protest  that  worship  which  belongs  to  God  alone. 
Others  have  seen  in  this  episode  a  suggestion  with  respect  to 
the  identity  of  the  angel  himself.  He  says,  'T  am  thy  fellow 
servant,  and  of  thy  brethren  the  prophets."  The  promise  was 
given  to  Daniel,  "Thou  shalt  rest,  and  stand  in  thy  lot  at  the 
end  of  the  days;"  they  hold  that  it  may  be  something  more 
than  a  pleasing  fancy  to  conceive  of  the  grand  old  lion-tamer 
as  thus  standing  in  his  lot.  But  the  thought  is  not  essential 
to  the  explanation  of  the  statement  made.  The  Spirit  of 
prophecy  is  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  is  the  inspirer  of  all  that  vast 
body  of  prophecy  whose  great  burden  very  largely  is  that  of 
pouring  out  prophetically  the  vials  of  the  divine  wrath  upon  a 
world  contumacious  of  God  and  the  demands  of  his  kingdom. 
It  has  seemed  most  perplexing  to  some  commentators,  who 
read  this  book  as  consecutive  history,  that  after  receiving  such 
a  rebuke  the  apostle  should  so  utterly  fail  to  profit  by  it.    At 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  371 

the  close  of  the  Contrastive  Counterpart  he  repeats  his  error, 
and  is  again  rebuked  in  ahiiost  exactly  the  same  words  as 
before.  Others  have  sought  to  explain  this  second  act  of 
worship  as  being  only  an  allusion  to  the  first,  which  occurred 
in  the  connection  first  recorded.  But  why  call  it  up  again? 
What  end  is  to  be  subserved  by  thus  repeating  almost  in  the 
same  words  what  has  already  been  made  sufficiently  clear? 
This  episode  is  the  punctuating  point  of  the  apocalyptic 
panorama.  It  is  now  structurally  complete.  Its  repetition  at 
the  end  of  chapter  22  simply  tells  us  that  all  that  lies  between 
must  be  understood  as  amplified  detail  of  the  paragraphs 
already  passed  upon  the  screen  in  connection  with  the  crisal 
fall  of  the  great  city.  The  two  remaining  sections  of  the 
Trilogy  will  deal  (i)  with  the  therionic  phase  of  the  great 
battle,  placing  the  second  Person  of  the  Holy  Trinity  in  the 
leading  position,  while  the  third  phase  will  deal  with  the  over- 
throw of  the  dragon,  giving  this  victory  to  Him  who  is  seated 
upon  the  Theophanic  throne.  Then  in  the  same  manner  there 
follows  the  amplification  of  this  paragraph  relative  to  the  mar- 
riage of  the  Lamb  in  exactly  the  same  order  as  it  occurs  above 
— with  a  refinement  in  connection  which  can  be  hardly  prop- 
erly exhibited  until  these  included  sections  shall  have  been 
thrown  upon  the  screen. 

The  Trilogy — Part  Second 

The  Fall  of  the  Beast  and  False  Prophet 
The  White  Horseman  at  the  Head  of  the  Armies  of 

Heaven 
"And  the  cities  of  the  Gentiles  fell"  (Rev.  16.  19;  11.  2;  Luke  i.  31-33). 

( I )  "And  I  saw  heaven  opened,  and  behold  a  white  horse ; 
and  he  that  sat  upon  him  was  called  Faithful  and  True,  and 
in  righteousness  he  doth  judge  and  make  war.  And  his  eyes 
were  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  on  his  head  were  many  diadems ; 
and  he  had  a  name  written,  that  no  man  knew,  but  he  himself. 


372  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

And  he  was  clothed  in  a  vesture  dipped  in  blood:  and  his 
name  is  called  The  Word  of  God." 

(2)  "And  the  armies  which  were  in  heaven  followed  him 
upon  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean." 

(3)  "And  out  of  his  mouth  goeth  a  sharp  sword,  that  with 
it  he  should  smite  the  nations ;  and  he  shall  rule  them  with  a 
rod  of  iron:  and  he  treadeth  the  wine  press  of  the  fierceness 
and  wrath  of  Almighty  God." 

(4)  "And  he  hath  on  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  a  name 
written,  KING  OF  KINGS,  AND  LORD  OF  LORDS." 

(5)  "And  I  saw  an  angel  standing  in  the  sun;  and  he  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  saying  to  all  the  fowls  that  fly  in  the  midst 
of  heaven,  Come  and  gather  yourselves  together  unto  the 
supper  of  the  great  God;  that  ye  may  eat  the  flesh  of  kings, 
and  the  flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men,  and 
the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  on  them,  and  the  flesh 
of  all  men,  both  free  and  bond,  both  small  and  great." 

(6)  "And  I  saw  the  beast,  and  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and 
their  armies,  gathered  together  to  make  war  against  him  that 
sat  on  the  horse,  and  against  his  army.  And  the  beast  was 
taken,  and  with  him  the  false  prophet  that  wrought  miracles 
before  him,  with  which  he  deceived  them  that  had  received 
the  mark  of  the  beast,  and  them  that  worshiped  his  image. 
These  both  were  cast  alive  into  the  lake  of  fire  burning  with 
brimstone." 

(7)  "And  the  remnant  were  slain  with  the  sword  of  him  that 
sat  upon  the  horse,  which  sword  proceeded  out  of  his  mouth: 
and  all  the  fowls  were  filled  with  their  flesh." 

The  symbolism  now  recurs  to  the  headwaters  of  the  book  of 
the  Theophany  to  clear  up  the  mystery  that  envelops  the  white 
horseman  who,  as  introduced  with  a  clap  of  thunder,  rides 
forth  from  the  first  broken  seal.  He  was  armed  with  a  bow, 
and  a  crown  was  given  to  him,  and  he  went  forth  conquering 
and  to  conquer.     He  is  followed  by  other  horsemen,  whose 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  373 

names  are  indicated  or  expressed,  but  his  is  veiled  in  mystery. 
If  given  at  all  it  is  in  characters  most  occult.  Many  are  of  the 
opinion  that  we  have  him  before  us  again  in  this  mighty 
diademed  Commander  who  now  rides  forth  upon  the  field  of 
the  great  Armageddon.  Alford  maintains  that  the  two  figures 
are  the  same.  Whedon  dissents.  Whedon  is  unquestionably 
in  the  right,  though  he  utterly  misconceives  the  significance 
of  the  white  horseman  of  the  seal.  The  position  taken  in 
this  study  has  already  been  defined. 

The  white  horseman  of  the  seal  is  the  federal  head  of  the 
race.  He  goes  forth  at  the  head  of  the  seal  panorama  in 
solitary  grandeur.  He  comes  forth  armed,  and  receives  the 
crown  of  dominion.  In  the  present  scene  he  is  before  us  again, 
the  figure  being  consistently  enlarged  into  the  mighty  white- 
robed  white-horsed  cavalcade  who  are  deployed  upon  the  field 
of  the  great  Armageddon.  The  many-diademed  Commander 
presents  the  Christophanic  figure  metamorphosed  to  accord 
with  the  militant  occasion  in  which  his  is  the  leading  part. 
He  has  the  same  flaming  eyes,  the  same  sharp  sword  flashes 
from  his  lips,  and  with  his  fiery  feet  he  will  now  tread  the 
great  wine  press  of  the  wrath  of  God.  He  will  tread  it  here  as 
though  the  cup  of  the  wrath  of  God  had  not  already  been 
poured  out  upon  great  Babylon.  The  hoary  crown  of  the 
figure,  as  first  disclosed,  here  is  reenforced  by  the  symbol  of 
royal  power.  In  the  seal  symbolism  omnipotence  is  displayed 
in  the  seven  horns  that  crown  his  head,  and  omniscience  in 
the  seven  eyes,  or  spirits.  Here  the  diadems  stand  for  the 
same  occult  truth,  while  the  sword  symbol  takes  the  place 
again  of  that  of  the  seven  eyes.  The  recurrent  symbolism  of 
the  Christophany  determines  its  associate  connection  here.  He 
has  been  disclosed  as  Prophet  and  Priest,  and  now  he  rides 
forth  in  his  kingly  glory.  He  is  the  seed  of  the  woman,  divinely 
caught  up  to  God  and  to  his  throne  to  rule  the  nations  as  with 
a  rod  of  iron,  and  to  dash  them  to  pieces  as  a  potter's  vessel. 
The  reintroduction  of  this  figure   from  the  Thyatiran  sym- 


374  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

holism  and  from  that  of  the  Basilophany  (2.  2"]',  12.  5)  tells 
us  that  there  is  mystic  structural  coincidence  between  these 
diverse  points  of  characterization.  He  rides  with  his  militant 
following  into  the  most  terrific  scene  of  blood  ever  conceived 
in  the  imagination  of  mortal  man.  It  rises  into  a  sanguinary 
flood  that  reaches  to  the  bridles  of  this  white  cavalcade  that 
follows  his  lead.  The  name  written  on  his  blood-besprinkled 
vesture  and  on  his  thigh  discloses  him  as  the  KING  OF 
KINGS,  AND  LORD  OF  LORDS.  In  this  character  he 
is  disclosed  as  deployed  against  these  same  kings  of  the  earth 
in  the  Babylonian  symbolism  (17.  14),  where  we  also  get  a 
glimpse  of  this  mighty  host  which  are  now  ranged  under  his 
banner:  ''And  they  that  are  with  him  are  called,  and  elect, 
and  faithful."  There  are  horses  also  on  the  adverse  side  of 
the  field;  for  the  birds  of  the  air  are  summoned  to  "eat  the 
flesh  of  kings,  and  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men, 
and  the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  on  them."  The 
allusion  introduces  here  the  Euphrates  cavalcade  of  the  two 
hundred  millions  (9.  17).  These  allusions,  as  they  take  the 
sweep  of  the  whole  of  the  previously  deployed  panorama, 
simply  serve  to  show  how  wide  is  the  range  of  vision  with 
respect  to  this  gory  field.  The  fact  that  its  progressive  phases 
take  the  range  of  a  clearly  defined  seven  will  not  be  lost  sight 
of  by  the  intelligent  reader.  It  is  structurally  determinative 
of  the  same  universal  sweep  as  that  of  the  correlate  sections 
of  the  book. 

Alford  considers  this  scene  as  a  mere  episode,  and  denomi- 
nates it  judicial.  Whedon  also  has  a  like  limited  range  of 
vision,  and  decides  that  it  is  militant.  The  first  white  horse- 
man, of  the  seal,  is  some  Charlemagne,  or  Napoleon,  while 
this  great  Leader  is  clearly  identified  as  the  militant  Christ, 
who  here  mystically  leads  upon  the  great  field  of  final  arbitra- 
ment between  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  and  that  divinely 
given  to  him.  Both  phases  are  recognized  in  the  oflice  of  the 
mighty  Leader,  for  it  is  said,  "In  righteousness  he  doth  judge 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  375 

and  make  war."  It  is  one  of  the  principles  clearly  established 
in  the  Scriptures  that  the  judgment  of  God  upon  the  nations, 
as  such,  proceeds  in  time,  as  they  have  no  hereafter. 

The  parallel  of  this  scene  that  is  furnished  by  Isaiah  is  in- 
structive, and  in  the  same  sense  as  the  next  section  will  intro- 
duce the  great  Gog-Magog  battle  of  Ezekiel,  so  this  of  Isaiah 
falls  here.  He  says:  "Who  is  this  that  cometh  from  Edom, 
with  dyed  garments  from  Bozrah?  This  that  is  glorious  in 
his  apparel,  traveling  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength?  I  that 
speak  in  righteousness,  mighty  to  save.  Wherefore  art  thou 
red  in  thine  apparel,  and  thy  garments  like  him  that  treadeth 
in  the  wine  fat?  I  have  trodden  the  wine  press  alone,  and  of 
the  people  there  was  none  with  me :  for  I  will  tread  them  in 
mine  anger,  and  trample  them  in  my  fury,  and  their  blood 
shall  be  sprinkled  upon  my  garments,  and  I  will  stain  all  my 
raiment.  For  the  day  of  vengeance  is  in  mine  heart,  and  the 
year  of  my  redeemed  is  come.  And  I  looked,  and  there  was 
none  to  help,  and  I  wondered  that  there  was  none  to  uphold; 
therefore  mine  own  arm  brought  salvation  unto  me,  and  my 
fury,  it  upheld  me.  And  I  will  tread  down  the  people  in  mine 
anger,  and  make  them  drunk  in  my  fury,  and  I  will  bring 
down  their  strength  to  the  earth." 

As  we  follow  the  prophet  as  he  develops  this  scene  we  will 
find  here  just  as  we  will  in  connection  with  the  later  vision  of 
Ezekiel,  which  is  drawn  upon  for  the  next  section  of  the 
Trilogy,  that  it  is  the  white-robed,  and  in  consequence,  re- 
deemed ''house  of  Israel"  that  follow  him  in  every  case.  On 
the  mount  they  are  clearly  ranged  with  him  as  the  purified 
"one  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand"  who  wear  the  seal  of 
Israel  in  their  foreheads,  and  who  are  indissolubly  joined  to 
him  and  follow  him  whithersoever  he  goeth.  They  are  his 
elect  whom  his  angels  gather  from  the  four  winds,  from  one 
end  of  heaven  even  to  the  other  end  of  heaven. 

There  can  be  no  ground  for  dispute  that  the  great  leading 
theme  of  the  Old  Testament  is  the  divine  election  of  Israel, 


376  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

their  sad  defection  from  their  God,  and  the  consequent  puni- 
tive dispensation  which  scatters  them  throughout  the  whole 
earth,  to  be  submerged  for  a  long  period  under  the  Gentile 
nations  and  lost  to  themselves  and  to  history.  There  can  be 
no  dispute  of  the  fact  that  this  period  of  their  depression  and 
scattering  in  the  earth  is  recognized  by  Christ,  Paul,  and  in 
this  symbolism  as  "the  times  of  the  Gentiles,"  beyond  the 
lines  of  which  Israel  would  rise  again,  as  the  lost  sheep  of 
this  great  world-wilderness  whom  their  great  Restorer  and 
Shepherd  would  gather  again  unto  himself  and  cement  into  a 
glorious  kingdom  that  would  be  everlasting.  To  ignore  this 
great  scriptural  fact,  or  to  stamp  it  as  a  myth,  will  not  only 
render  intelligent  exposition  of  the  Scriptures  impossible,  but 
it  will  destroy  the  foundations  of  the  entire  body  of  Old 
Testament  Christology.  We  may  see  in  the  concluding  state- 
ments of  this  vision  of  Isaiah  quoted  above  the  same  conception 
of  the  treading  down  of  the  Israelite  sanctuary  as  we  have 
at  chapter  ii.  2:  ''Doubtless  thou  art  our  Father,  though 
Abraham  be  ignorant  of  us,  and  Israel  acknowledge  us  not: 
thou,  O  Lord,  art  our  Father,  our  Redeemer:  thy  name  is 
from  everlasting.  O  Lord,  why  hast  thou  made  us  to  err  from 
thy  ways,  and  hardened  our  heart  from  thy  fear?  Return  for 
thy  servants'  sake,  the  tribes  of  thine  inheritance.  Thy  holy 
people  possessed  it  but  a  little  while:  our  adversaries  have 
trodden  dozvn  thy  sanctuary.  We  are  become  as  they  over 
whom  thou  never  bearest  rule;  as  they  that  were  not  called 
by  thy  name"  (Isa.  63.  16-19).  The  continuity  of  Isaiah  here 
is  unbroken.  If  we  allow  that  the  Apocalypse,  at  this  point, 
introduces  this  symbolism  as  referring  to  Christ  we  cannot 
reject  the  presence  of  Israel.  The  manner  In  which  Israel  has 
been  introduced,  and  dignified  in  the  symbolism,  gives  good 
ground  for  the  amended  rendering  of  the  exponent  that  gov- 
erns this  section  of  the  Trilogy.  As  Is  well  known  to  all  the 
scholars,  the  same  Greek  word  Is  employed  for  "nations"  and 
''Gentiles."     The  triumph  of  Israel,  as  it  is  so  pointedly  set 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  377 

forth  under  these  various  symbols,  gives  plausibility  to  the 
thought  that  the  rendering  of  ''Gentiles"  in  the  statement, 
"and  the  cities  of  the  Gentiles  fell,"  is  in  perfect  accord  with 
the  groundwork  of  the  book.  The  fact  that  thus  stands  forth 
in  the  exponential  hieroglyph  is  in  perfect  accord  with  this 
most  striking  feature  of  the  symbolism.  The  fall  of  these 
cities  touches  the  governmental  aspects  of  this  section.  It 
signifies  the  end  of  the  Gentile  regime  in  the  earth,  as  it  stands 
opposed  in  spirit  and  act  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

Above  the  carnage  of  this  sanguinary  field  there  comes  a 
voice  bidding  the  birds  of  heaven  to  come  to  the  feast  and  eat 
the  flesh  of  kings  and  captains,  etc.  It  will  be  observed  that 
the  number  seven  also  controls  with  regard  to  the  menu  served 
here,  as  it  did  with  respect  to  the  kings  and  captains  who  led 
the  great  prayer  meeting  at  the  close  of  the  sixth  seal.  Atten- 
tion is  directed  in  this  call  to  the  structural  point  from  which 
the  sun-robed  woman  fell.  The  hour  of  her  divine  Child  has 
now  arrived,  and  he  will  dash  the  nations  to  pieces  upon  this 
fated  field.  This  call  also  serves  to  establish  the  unity  of  this 
great  conflict  with  that  next  to  follow,  in  the  third  phase  of 
the  Trilogy.  The  prophet  Ezekiel  puts  this  feast  of  the  fowls 
at  the  end  of  the  Gog-Magog  battle.  That  will  next  ensue, 
and  end  the  career  of  the  dragon.  This  call  to  the  feast  for 
Armageddon  tells  us  that  Armageddon  and  the  battle  of  Gog 
are  one  and  the  same. 

The  mobility  of  this  angel  figure  who  bids  the  birds  to  the 
feast  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  in  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel 
it  is  the  prophet  himself  who  is  divinely  directed  to  utter  this 
call :  **And,  thou  son  of  man,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Speak 
unto  every  feathered  fowl,  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field. 
Assemble  yourselves,  and  come ;  gather  yourselves  on  every 
side  to  my  sacrifice  that  I  do  sacrifice  for  you,  even  a  great 
sacrifice  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel,  that  ye  may  eat  flesh, 
and  drink  blood.  Ye  shall  eat  the  flesh  of  the  mighty,  and 
drink  the  blood  of  the  princes  of  the  earth,  of  rams,  of  lambs. 


^yS  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

and  of  goats,  of  bullocks,  all  of  them  fatlings  of  Bashan.  And 
ye  shall  eat  fat  till  ye  be  full,  and  drink  blood  till  ye  be 
drunken,  of  my  sacrifice  which  I  have  sacrificed  for  you. 
Thus  ye  shall  be  filled  at  my  table  with  horses  and  chariots, 
with  mighty  men,  and  with  all  men  of  war,  saith  the  Lord 
God,  And  I  will  set  my  glory  among  the  Gentiles,  and  all  the 
Gentiles  shall  see  my  judgment  that  I  have  executed,  and  my 
hand  that  I  have  laid  upon  them.  So  shall  the  house  of  Israel 
knozv  that  I  am  the  Lord  their  God  from  that  day  and  forward. 
And  the  Gentiles  shall  knozv  that  the  house  of  Israel  zvent  into 
captivity  for  their  iniquity,  because  they  trespassed  against 
me,  and  I  hid  my  face  from  them:  so  I  gave  them  into  the 
hand  of  their  adversaries,  so  fell  they  all  by  the  szvord.  Accord- 
ing to  their  uncleanness  and  according  to  their  transgressions 
have  I  done  unto  them,  and  hid  my  face  from  them.  There- 
fore thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Nozv  zvill  I  bring  again  the  cap- 
tivity of  Jacob,  and  have  mercy  upon  the  zvhole  house  of  Israel, 
and  zvill  be  jealous  for  my  holy  name;  after  that  they  have 
borne  their  shame,  and  all  their  trespasses  whereby  they  have 
trespassed  against  me,  when  they  dwelt  safely  in  their  land, 
and  none  made  them  afraid.  When  I  have  brought  them 
again  from  the  peoples,  and  have  gathered  them  out  of  their 
enemies'  lands,  and  am  sanctified  in  them  in  sight  of  many 
nations;  then  shall  they  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  their  God, 
which  caused  them  to  be  led  into  captivity  among  the  Gentiles : 
but  I  have  gathered  them  unto  their  own  land,  and  have  left 
none  of  them  any  more  there.  Neither  will  I  hide  my  face  any 
more  from  them:  for  I  have  poured  out  my  Spirit  upon  the 
house  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord  God"  (Ezek.  39.  17-29). 

It  has  been  laid  down  as  one  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  this  exposition  that  any  reference  to  the  correlate  or  parallel 
symbolism  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  as  striking  a  manner  as 
is  here  in  evidence,  certifies  the  adjustment  of  all  its  associate 
symbolism  or  factors  within  the  scope  of  the  apocalyptic  field 
under  characterization.     Ezekiel  places  this  sumptuous  feast 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  379 

of  the  birds  as  sequent  to  the  great  battle  of  Gog;  John  here 
places  it  as  the  terminal  utterance  with  respect  to  this  great 
Armageddon ;  ergo,  Gog  and  Armageddon  are  identical.  Next, 
the  defeat  of  the  dragon  is  portrayed  upon  the  scroll.  The 
whole  world  is  deceived  by  the  loosened  devil,  who  gathers 
the  Gentiles,  as  the  sands  of  the  seashore,  against  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Christ.  This  mighty  coalition  is  distinctly  stated 
to  be  the  great  Gog-Magog  movement  of  the  latter  days. 
Therefore,  again,  the  mighty  struggle  in  which  the  dragon 
goes  down  is  identical  with  Armageddon.  If  the  symbols  here 
do  not  become  diaphanous  it  is  surely  not  the  fault  of  the 
Sacred  Limner,  but  of  our  "holden"  eyes. 

The  final  paragraph,  which  deals  with  the  "remnant"  who 
are  slain  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  touches  again  this  ques- 
tion of  Israel,  as  it  attests  the  spiritual  character  of  the  warfare 
that  is  waged  by  the  mighty  Leader  upon  this  decisive  field 
(see  chapter  11,  last  verse,  relative  to  the  great  earthquake). 

This  section,  as  it  thus  tersely  ends,  finishes  with  the  second, 
or  governmental,  part  of  the  great  city.  The  dragonic  part, 
which  will  now  be  thrown  upon  the  screen,  in  a  thoroughly 
characteristic  manner  disposes  of  the  dragon,  and  then  ends 
the  retributive  scene  with  a  passing  reference  to  the  great 
terminal  scene  of  the  judgment  day. 

Had  it  not  already  been  lucidly  explained  by  this  principle 
of  inclusion  the  query  here  would  force  itself  upon  us  as  to 
why  this  most  glorious  victory,  achieved  by  the  multidiademed 
Christ  at  the  head  of  all  the  armies  of  heaven,  should  have  no 
exponential  introduction,  and  no  threnodists  to  celebrate  it 
either  by  wailings  from  the  outer  darkness  or  celestial  storm 
of  rejoicing.  Surely  the  importance  of  this  great  battle,  that 
is  waged  against  the  beast,  false  prophet,  and  the  kings  of  the 
earth,  cannot  consistently  be  conceived  as  less  than  the  strik- 
ing of  this  foul  creature  in  scarlet  from  her  throne  of  state 
and  hurling  her  down  the  steeps  of  Gehenna.  The  silence  of 
all,  prelude,  interlude,  and  postlude,  is  a  structural  attestation 


380  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

of  the  fact  that  we  have  already  heard  it  all  in  the  tempestuous 
storm  which  swept  through  the  heavenly  spaces  when  great 
Babylon  fell.  The  dragonic  section,  which  follows,  will  be 
found  in  the  same  manner  denuded  of  all  apocalyptic  em- 
broidery. Here  we  have  some  of  the  most  marvelous  periods 
of  the  whole  book,  and  most  whelming  imagery,  and  yet 
without  a  single  shout,  or  thrum  of  a  harpstring.  The  design 
is  thus  made  apparent  simply  to  give  the  necessary  details  with 
respect  to  the  dragon's  part  in  the  great  battle,  and  how  the 
fiery  discharge  of  the  wrath  of  God  reached  him,  as  the  great 
infernal  commander,  back  upon  the  hilltops. 

The  Trilogy— Part  Third 

The  Whelming  of  the  Dragon 
The  candid  expositor  is  not  disposed  to  underrate  the  diffi- 
culties which  have  so  effectually  baffled  all  previous  attempts 
at  satisfactory  exposition  of  this  transcendent  culmination  of 
the  retributive  series.  Schemes  of  interpretation,  numerous, 
variant,  incoherent,  and  mutually  destructive,  have  persistently 
thrust  themselves  forward  with  all  the  assurance  of  infalli- 
bility with  respect  to  their  exhibit.  To  that  extent  have  the 
fundamental  principles  of  apocalyptic  characterization  been 
outraged  that  the  whole  subject  has  very  largely  fallen  into 
quasi-disrepute  with  thinking  men  and  has  been  given  over 
to  the  irrational  enthusiast,  who  confidently  exploits  it  as  the 
citadel  of  strength  of  his  logically  impossible  scheme  of  mil- 
lennial incoherency.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  there  is  a  sane 
method  of  exposition,  that  this  dragonic  section,  like  all  others, 
is  solidly  buttressed  in  the  structural  law  of  the  book,  round- 
ing out  Its  symmetrical  enunciation,  the  writer,  in  demonstrat- 
ing this  fact,  could  hardly  perform  a  more  valuable  service 
in  behalf  of  sound  biblical  exposition.  The  ascertained  char- 
acter of  the  associate  sections  of  the  Trilogy  have  very  largely 
determined,  in  advance,  that  of  this  now  under  review.  It 
will  take  coordinate  rank  as  one  of  the  great  generics  of  the 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  381 

book,  having  a  full  complement  of  paragraphic  groupings  in 
attestation  of  the  fact  that  it  takes  the  full  range  of  its  sub- 
ject from  this  dragonic  standpoint,  from  initials  to  finalities, 
simply  giving  in  accentuated  form  what  has  already  in  different 
phase  passed  upon  the  screen. 

The  structural  division  of  the  section  is  as  follows: 

Structural  Analysis  of  the  Draconic  Section 
"And  great  Babylon  came  into  remembrance  before  God,  to  give 
unto  her  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  the  fierceness  of  his  wrath." 

(l)   THE  quadrate  OF  THE  BINDING 

(i)  "(i)  And  I  saw  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  hav- 
ing the  key  of  the  bottomless  pit  and  (2)  a  great  chain  in  his 
hand.  (3)  And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon,  that  old  serpent, 
which  is  the  Devil,  and  Satan,  and  bound  him  a  thousand  years, 
(4)  and  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  (5)  and  shut  him  up, 
(6)  and  set  a  seal  upon  him,  that  he  should  deceive  the  Gentiles 
no  more,  till  the  thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled.  (7)  And 
after  that  he  must  be  loosed  a  little  season." 

(2)  Antithetic  vision  of  triumph:  "(i)  And  I  saw  thrones, 
(2)  and  they  sat  upon  them,  (3)  and  judgment  was  given 
unto  them." 

(3)  The  millennial  reign  of  the  martyrs  with  Christ: 
"(i)  And  I  saw  the  souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded  for  the 
witness  of  Jesus,  (2)  and  for  the  word  of  God,  (3)  and  which 
had  not  worshiped  the  beast,  (4)  neither  his  image,  (5)  neither 
had  received  his  mark  in  their  foreheads,  (6)  or  In  their 
hands;  (7)  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand 
years.  (But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  until  the  thousand 
years  were  finished.)" 

(4)  The  first  resurrection:  "This  is  the  first  resurrection, 
(i)  Blessed  and  holy  Is  he  that  hath  part  In  the  first  resur- 
rection: (2)  on  such  the  second  death  hath  no  power,  (3)  but 
they  shall  be  priests  of  God  and  of  Christ,  (4)  and  shall  reign 
with  him  a  thousand  years." 


382  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Attention  is  here  called  to  a  most  impressive  feature  of 
complex  enunciation — that  of  a  broken  seven  holding  as  an 
inclusion  the  full  seven  of  the  paragraph  relating  to  the  reign 
of  the  souls  of  the  sainted  dead  with  Christ.  That  we  have 
here  a  feature  of  most  profound  significance  will  become  more 
apparent  as  these  periods  are  passed  in  review. 

(2)   THE  QUADRATE  OF  THE  LOOSING 

(i)  "(i)  And  when  the  thousand  years  are  expired,  Satan 
shall  be  loosed  out  of  his  prison,  (2)  and  shall  go  out  to  deceive 
the  nations  which  are  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  Gog  and 
Magog,  (3)  to  gather  them  together  to  battle:  the  number  of 
whom  is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea.  (4)  And  they  went  up  on  the 
breadth  of  the  earth,  (5)  and  compassed  the  camp  of  the  saints 
about,  and  the  beloved  city:  (6)  and  fire  came  down  from  God 
out  of  heaven,  and  devoured  them.  (7)  And  the  devil,  that 
deceived  them,  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone, 
where  the  beast  and  false  prophet  are,  and  shall  be  tormented 
day  and  night  forever  and  ever." 

(2)  The  second  coming  of  Christ:  ''(i)  And  I  saw  a  great 
white  throne,  (2)  and  him  that  sat  on  it,  (3)  from  whose  face 
the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away;  (4)  and  there  was  found 
no  place  for  them." 

(3)  The  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  general  judgment: 
"(i)  And  I  saw  the  dead,  the  small  and  the  great,  stand  before 
God;  (2)  and  the  books  were  opened:  (3)  and  another  book 
was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of  life :  (4)  and  the  dead  were 
judged  out  of  those  things  which  were  written  in  the  books, 
according  to  their  works.  (5)  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead 
which  were  In  it :  (6)  and  death  and  Hades  gave  up  the  dead 
which  were  in  them:  (7)  and  they  were  judged  every  man 
according  to  their  works." 

(4)  "(i)  And  death  and  Hades  were  cast  into  the  lake  of 
fire.  (2)  This  is  the  second  death.  (3)  And  whosoever  was  not 
found  written  in  the  book  of  life  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire." 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  383 

If  the  reader  will  now  carefully  study  the  diagram  of  this 
section  he  will  hardly  fail  of  being  impressed  with  the  fact 
that  both  these  quadrates  present  a  broken  seven,  which  carries 
a  sub-seven  as  an  inclusion,  with  a  striking  reversal  of  the  order 
of  enunciation.  This  is  part  of  the  problem  with  which  we  are 
called  to  deal.  This  dual  quadrate  feature  here,  on  the  dark 
side  of  the  symbolism,  presents  the  same  structural  symmetry 
as  that  of  the  dual  triads,  recognized  in  the  Third  Contrastive 
Counterpart  (chapter  14).  In  the  Triad  of  Attestation  (chap- 
ter 22),  the  same  structural  lines  rise  before  us  again,  but 
with  a  complexity  that,  though  clear  in  its  expression,  is  most 
profound  in  its  meaning. 

The  Binding  of  the  Dragon 
First,  with  respect  to  the  significance  of  the  dragonic  symbol. 
A  protest  seems  in  order  here  against  the  unscholarly  jug- 
gling with  this  figure  that  mars  the  work  of  some  of  our  best 
expositors  when  they  find  it  getting  in  the  way  of  their  theory. 
For  instance,  a  double  significance  is  attached  to  it  within  the 
lines  of  the  same  section.  First  it  is  Satan,  and  then  the  pagan 
Roman  empire.  As  first  disclosed  upon  the  celestial  plane,  as 
the  malign  antagonist  of  the  sun-robed  woman,  none  seem 
to  have  the  hardihood  to  maintain  that  it  does  not  signalize 
a  veritable  Satanophany.  It  is  hardly  possible  by  any  stretch 
of  the  imagination  to  conceive  of  pagan  Rome  as  occupying 
such  a  position  in  the  presence  of  the  throne  of  God,  and  of 
sweeping  one  third  of  the  stars  from  the  heavens  by  the  swish 
of  its  dragonic  tail.  Nor  is  it  logically  possible  to  conceive  of 
pagan  Rome  as  still  within  the  field  of  action  as  subsequent 
to  the  whelming  of  the  adverse  figures  of  the  previous  sections 
of  this  Trilogy.  It  is  equally  unthinkable  that  the  pagan 
Roman  empire  should  be  bound  with  a  great  chain  for  a 
thousand  years  within  the  depths  of  Tartarus.  But,  notwith- 
standing all  this,  when  the  dragon  crosses  swords  with  Michael, 
in  the  war  in  heaven,  then,  forsooth,  he  is  pagan  Rome,  even 


334  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

be  the  result  of  a  second  opening  of  the  doors  of  the  bottomless 
pit  and  of  a  fresh  incursion  of  the  power  of  the  underworld 
into  the  earth.  Thus  again  we  have  presented  to  us,  under  a 
chronology  that  cannot  be  mistaken,  the  fact  that  this  meta- 
morphosed phase  of  world-dominion  in  the  Christian  age  has 
its  origin  in  the  bursting  open  of  the  doors  of  the  bottomless 
pit  and  the  loosing  of  Satan  in  the  earth.  If  the  reader  has 
mastered  the  method  of  this  mystic  chronology,  which  has 
throughout  the  course  of  the  series  traversed  invariably  brought 
us  to  this  point,  he  will  see  that  in  this  angelic  interpretation 
the  sunlight  has  indeed  shot  through  the  symbolism  in  a  man- 
ner that  definitely  settles  one  of  the  most  perplexing  questions 
of  the  panorama. 

As  the  fifth  vial  is  poured  out  upon  the  throne  of  the  beast 
grievous  sores  result — the  reflex,  perhaps,  of  the  grievous  sores 
upon  the  putrefying  body  of  the  beast  himself ;  for  it  is  histori- 
cally true  that  as  each  head  has  fallen  and  rotted  away  it  has 
left  an  open  sore  which  none  of  his  physicians  have  ever  been 
able  to  heal.  Conceptually  the  power  of  dominion  is  in  the 
ten  horns,  for  they  wear  the  diadems,  but  they  have  no  kingdom 
save  as  they  give  their  power  to  the  beast  and  reign  conjointly 
with  him.  In  the  same  sense  as  it  may  be  said  of  the  beast 
that  he  was,  is  not,  and  yet  is,  all  the  antecedent  phases  of 
Satanic  power  must  be  conceived  as,  in  a  correlate  sense,  pass- 
ing forward  with  the  beast  redivivus.  I  must  here  record  my 
dissent  from  the  interpretation  which  so  positively  at  this  point 
interjects  the  seven  hills  of  Rome.  The  interposition  of  a  liter- 
alism in  this  connection,  striking  as  it  may  be,  is  in  violation 
of  the  method  of  the  Apocalypse,  shows  a  painful  lack  of  acute- 
ness  of  perception,  and  weakens  the  cause  in  behalf  of  which 
it  is  brought  forward.  If  the  seven  hills  are  the  literal  hills 
of  the  Eternal  City,  how  about  the  many  waters  ?  Five  of  these 
mountains  were  fallen  in  the  time  of  the  writing  of  the  Apoc- 
alypse, while  it  will  hardly  be  disputed  that  the  seven  literal 
hills  of  Rome  are  yet  in  place.    From  the  standpoint  of  John, 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  335 

or  rather  of  the  interpreting  angel,  only  one  of  these  great 
mountains  lay  in  the  future.  As  one  head  it  would  wear  all 
the  horns,  but  would  continue  only  a  ''short  space."  Here  we 
have  again  the  chronological  exponent  of  the  period  of  Satan's 
loosing  in  the  earth.  The  continuance  of  this  final  phase  of 
world-dominion  is  under  the  one  head  of  the  beast,  with  the 
apostate  church  enthroned  upon  his  back  and  guiding  him  as 
she  will,  until  the  horns  break  loose  from  the  last  falling  head 
and,  turning  against  the  great  harlot,  "make  her  desolate  and 
naked,  and  shall  eat  her  flesh,  and  burn  her  with  fire." 

There  are  but  two  points  within  the  lines  of  this  panorama 
where  a  divine  call  is  made  for  "wisdom" :  first  in  connection 
with  the  number  of  the  two-horned  adjuvant  of  the  therion 
of  the  sea  and  again  with  respect  to  this  duality  now  before  us. 
The  reintroduction  of  this  exponential  marking  here  is  signifi- 
cant. It  tells  us  in  metamorphic  phase  that  the  thrall  of  the 
beast  in  both  cases  is  by  the  same  power,  though  in  the  one 
case  by  the  false  prophet  and  in  the  other  by  the  great  whore. 
It  is  hardly  possible  to  conceive  of  the  two-horned  therion  as 
present  in  this  scene.  He  exerciseth  all  the  pozver  of  the  beast. 
His  supersession  in  the  case  before  us,  therefore,  is  simply  a 
metamorphic  phase  of  the  symbolism. 

Two  most  interesting  facts  are  stated  by  this  interpreting 
angel  with  respect  to  the  ten  horns  upon  the  beast  which  do 
not  fall  conjointly  with  the  heads,  but  which  remain  until  the 
end.  In  the  progress  of  the  panorama  they  receive  no  kingdom 
save  as  they  are  a  component  part  of  the  beast.  The  horn  is 
the  symbol  of  power.  Here  mystically  we  are  told  that  the 
universal  power  of  world-dominion  will  by  concerted  action  be 
given  to  the  support  of  the  beast  until  this  last  head  shall 
fall.  The  Lamb  shall  finally  overcome  them ;  "for  he  is  Lord 
of  lords,  and  King  of  kings,  and  they  that  are  with  him  are 
called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful."  The  allusion  here  is  to  the 
second  phase  of  the  Trilogy  and  serves  to  mark  its  inclusion. 
His  overcoming  of  these  ten  horns  which  destroy  the  harlot 


386  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

to  depart  into  everlasting  fire,  yet,  behold,  according  to  Henry 
Varley,  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon,  and  other  accepted  authorities,  this 
judgment  becomes  almost  farcical  in  its  results.  All  the 
guilty  nations  of  earth,  fresh  from  their  wild  orgies  of  rapine 
and  blood,  are  gathered  before  the  judgment  throne  of  Christ. 
The  goats  are  divided  from  the  sheep,  though  why  they  should 
have  been  so  mixed  that  it  became  necessary  for  the  angels 
to  interpose  to  separate  these  mortals  and  immortals  is  not 
clear.  The  reward  prepared  from  the  foundation  of  the  world 
is  the  millennial  kingdom,  and  this  contingent  of  the  first  res- 
urrection now  enter  upon  it  to  dash  the  nations  to  shivers  as  a 
potter's  vessel  and  rule  them  with  a  rod  of  iron.  The  goats, 
including  the  contumacious  Jews  still  unconverted,  hear  from 
the  lips  of  Christ  the  awful  words,  ''Depart  from  me,  ye 
cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels."  The  veil  lifts,  and  the  flames  of  great  Babylon — still 
burning,  for  the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  forever 
and  ever — lights  the  pathway  of  a  lost  world  out  into  the  realm 
of  eternal  darkness.  The  loud  wail  of  terror  resounds, 
"Mountains  and  rocks,  fall  upon  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  face 
of  him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  from  the  wrath  of 
the  Lamb;  for  the  great  day  of  his  wrath  is  come,  and  who 
shall  be  able  to  stand  ?"  But  at  this  point  this  whole  affair  of 
the  judgment  of  the  guilty  nations  is  shown  to  be  nothing 
more  than  a  spectacular  farce.  If  these  nations  obey  the  awful 
mandate  from  the  throne  the  constituency  of  the  millennial 
kingdom  is  gone  and  with  it  the  history  of  the  generative  races 
ends.  But  this  must  not  be,  cannot  be.  The  world  must  be 
converted  and  the  Jews  brought  to  the  feet  of  Him  they  cruci- 
fied. Hence  there  is  now  a  strange  arrest  of  judgment  and 
suspension  of  sentence  for  a  thousand  years,  and  these  nations 
just  doomed  to  everlasting  fire  are  given  another  chance,  as 
the  constituents  of  the  saints,  and  share  with  them  the  glory 
of  the  millennial  reign.  This  means  to  them  a  second  proba- 
tion after  being  sentenced  to  depart.     It  will  take  place  in  the 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  387 

presence  of  the  demonstrated  realities  of  the  spiritual  and 
eternal  world,  and  with  the  certainty  that  the  crucified  Christ 
holds  the  destinies  of  the  world  in  his  hands.  But,  strangely 
inexplicable,  the  graves  of  the  wicked  dead  are  not  disturbed. 
They  sleep  on,  having  no  part  or  lot  in  this  amazing  exhibit 
of  millennial  mercy.  The  kingdom  is  immediately  established, 
and  these  enthroned  immortals  take  the  scepter  of  the  world. 
Government  is  no  longer  thralled  by  legislative  and  executive 
iniquity.  Righteousness  reigns  supreme  in  all  the  earth.  The 
burdens  of  government  no  longer  oppress ;  for  taxes  and  rev- 
enues are  very  largely  a  superfluity  in  the  situation  that  now 
obtains.  The  ideal  ministry  has  also  arrived  to  take  possession 
of  the  deserted  churches.  It  has  no  need  of  an  estimating 
committee  or  board  of  stewards.  It  can  preach  on  Hard- 
scrabble  Circuit  or  fly  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  with  the  mes- 
sage of  salvation  with  utter  indifference  to  the  missionary 
appropriation.  The  Luthers  and  Wesleys  can  now  thunder 
truth  in  the  face  of  mobs  who  have  no  power  to  do  them  harm. 
Paul  can  preach  without  any  danger  of  sinking  ships,  or  of 
Roman  dungeons,  or  ever  saying,  'The  time  of  my  departure 
is  at  hand."  The  benighted  Darwinist  can  be  brought  face  to 
face  with  Adam,  Moses  can  be  called  upon  to  smash  the  Higher 
Criticism,  and  Jonah  to  answer  all  questions  with  respect  to 
his  unique  sea  voyage.  The  prophets  are  all  at  hand  to  attest 
the  genuineness  of  their  prophecies,  and  the  apostles  and  evan- 
gelists to  tell  the  story  of  the  cross  in  the  presence  of  the 
throne  of  the  now  glorified  and  reigning  Jesus. 

The  devil  gnashes  his  teeth  behind  the  sealed  door  of  the 
bottomless  pit  and  can  no  longer  thrust  his  snaky  fingers  into 
the  affairs  of  earth.  It  would  seem  that  conditions  were  at 
last  favorable  for  a  revival  that  would  sweep  through  the 
whole  earth  like  a  cyclone  of  glory.  A  conservative  estimate 
would  give  about  eight  evangelists  to  one  sinner,  as  the  glo- 
rious work  begins.  In  the  language  of  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Simp- 
son with  respect  to  Christ:  ''Earth  will  be  again  his  residence. 


388  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

He  shall  be  its  benignant  and  glorious  King.  He  shall  be, 
no  doubt,  accessible,  and  visible  to  his  subjects  as  Solomon  of 
old.  The  saints  shall  sit  with  him  on  his  throne  and  reign 
with  him  over  the  earth.  Every  perplexity  and  difficulty  will 
have  his  wisdom  and  omnipotence  at  instant  command" 
(Millennial  Kingdom,  p.  303). 

What  a  day  it  will  be  for  the  downtrodden  Jew,  after  his 
reprieve,  when  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Moses,  and  the  proph- 
ets all  unite  for  his  conversion !  He  can  hold  out  no  more. 
The  Jewish  commonwealth  restored  becomes  the  queen  of  the 
nations  and,  to  a  large  extent,  the  instrumentality  employed  in 
the  conversion  of  the  myriad  Gentile  populations,  under  the 
fostering  care  of  the  wisest  men  of  all  the  past,  and  of  Christ 
himself  as  the  King  of  kings.  Glorious  the  result  for  that 
mighty  host  who  were  once  classed  as  goats  and  sentenced 
to  depart  into  everlasting  fire.  They  have  been  converted,  and 
thus  saved  from  this  awful  fate.  The  years  roll  on,  and  the 
earth,  transformed,  blossoms  as  the  rose.  All  the  dark  ques- 
tions that  once  perplexed  mankind  are  now  illumined  in  mil- 
lennial light.  The  mysteries  of  the  mighty  past  have  all  been 
cleared  up  by  those  who  lived  when  earth  was  young  and  on- 
ward through  the  rolling  centuries. 

Sad  to  contemplate  is  the  fact  that  over  this  transcendent 
picture  of  millennial  triumph  and  glory  there  should  fall  again 
the  appalling  shadow  of  the  coming  wreck  and  disastrous 
end  of  it  all.  Sometimes  the  advocates  of  the  scheme  of  which 
these  "etchings"  are  the  logical  outcome  have  spells  of  ra- 
tional thinking,  and  then,  by  their  silence  in  the  presence  of 
whelming  difficulties,  or  by  candid  confession,  give  evidence 
of  the  doubt  that  oppresses  them,  with  respect  to  the  validity 
of  their  teachings  (see  Dr.  Gordon's  Ecce  Venit,  p.  273). 

Rev.  A.  B.  Simpson  says:  "We  do  not  say  that  there  shall 
be  no  sin  left  in  human  hearts  during  the  millennial  age,  but 
that  open  wickedness  shall  be  suppressed  and  restrained  under 
the  holy  and  universal  sway  of  Christ  and  his  saints.     The 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  389 

world  will  be  evangelized,  and  brought  into  subjection  to 
Christ,  and,  ostensibly  at  least,  will  be  righteous  and  obedient." 

This  is  but  anticipative  of  the  terrific  hurricane  that  lies 
onward,  and  which  the  whole  world  knows  will  then  burst 
forth  upon  the  earth  in  intensified  fury.  Dr.  Gordon  admits 
the  fact,  but  glosses  it  over  with  a  few  meaningless  strokes 
of  his  pen.  He  says:  ''Sin,  and  sin's  agencies,  will  still  have 
a  certain  szvay:  for  Satan  will  yet  once  more  incite  rebellion 
before  being  finally  and  forever  cast  in  the  lake  of  Hre  (Rev. 
20.3-10)"  (p.  310)- 

What  a  commentary  on  the  intelligence  of  the  millennial 
age  that,  with  the  whole  dark  record  of  Satan's  past  doings 
in  the  earth  laid  open  before  them,  and  with  every  almanac 
noting  the  fact  of  the  fearful  incursion  due  in  the  year  looi, 
when  the  whole  world,  Gog  and  Magog,  would  be  swept  into 
open  rebellion  against  Christ,  they  should  become  so  easy  a 
prey  to  the  wiles  of  the  loosened  devil ! 

That  varied  phases  of  this  millennial  scheme  have  exerted 
in  the  past  and  do  up  to  the  present  hour  wield  a  most  potent 
influence  upon  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  church  of  Christ 
need  not  be  said ;  for  the  wildest  vagaries  and  at  times  the 
rankest  fanaticism  have  developed  in  connection  with  the 
promulgation  of  these  views.  Periodical  waves  of  millennial 
excitement  have  swept  through  the  church  in  which  the  most 
ardent  expectations  were  aroused  with  respect  to  the  speedy 
reappearance  of  Christ  to  establish  his  longed-for  reign  upon 
the  earth.  This,  notably,  was  the  case  when  the  end  of  the 
first  thousand  years  of  the  Christian  era  was  approaching. 
History  records  that  at  this  time  belief  in  the  speedy  return 
of  Christ  and  the  approaching  end  of  the  world  permeated 
all  classes.  The  Christian  then  was  as  eagerly  anticipating 
the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  the  Jew  had  been 
a  thousand  years  before  him ;  and,  like  the  Jew,  he  was  doomed 
to  disappointment.  Again,  as  we  are  approaching  the  end  of 
the  second  thousand  years,  this  ancient  conception  that  the 


390  The  Last  MesSz\ge  of  Jesus  Christ 

heavenly  kingdom  is  in  some  way  connected  with  the  decimal 
point  we  find  once  more  powerfully  agitating  the  church.  Be- 
ginning with  the  Millerite  excitement  at  the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  whose  disastrous  collapse  only  checked  the  enthusi- 
asm it  had  aroused  for  a  brief  spell,  hardly  a  year  has  passed 
without  some  startling  announcement  being  made  with  respect 
to  the  speedy  coming  of  the  Lord  to  raise  the  righteous  dead 
and  establish  his  throne  upon  this  earth  for  the  rounded  period 
of  a  thousand  years.  With  carefully  prepared  mathematical 
demonstrations  and  topographic  charts  of  the  course  of  time, 
they  have  persuaded  many  of  the  most  spiritual  and  devout 
members  of  the  church  that  the  end  of  all  things  is  even  now 
at  the  doors. 

Many  in  the  recent  past,  carried  away  with  the  excitement 
incident  to  so  stupendous  an  anticipation,  have  sold  or  given 
away  their  possessions,  have  provided  themselves  ascension 
robes  of  the  finest  quality  of  linen,  and  have  sought  the  most 
elevated  points  in  the  neighborhood  that  they  might  be  first 
to  greet  their  returning  Lord.  Housetops  and  church  spires 
have  been  thus  utilized  as  vantage  points  from  which  they 
might  hail  the  dawn  of  the  millennial  morning.  It  is  not  in 
the  spirit  of  ridicule  that  I  would  refer  to  these  numerous 
advent  fiascoes  of  recent  years,  but  with  profound  sorrow 
of  heart,  as  I  contemplate  the  sad  havoc  they  have  made  with 
this  most  important  biblical  truth,  bringing  humiliation  upon 
the  church  and  furnishing  a  most  delectable  occasion  for  the 
ungodly  to  scoff.  In  the  face  of  the  express  declaration  of 
our  Lord  that  the  time  of  his  promised  return  had  been  most 
carefully  concealed  not  only  from  men,  but  from  even  the 
angels  of  God,  these  advent  dates  continue  to  multiply — and 
fail.  In  a  recent  work,  that  claims  about  half  a  million  cir- 
culation, the  startling  information  is  given  that  the  "resurrec- 
tion is  past  already."  The  author's  carefully  computed 
calculation  determined  the  fact  that  the  second  coming  was 
due  in  the  year  1874;  and  without  visiting  a  single  cemetery. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  391 

to  ascertain  whether  any  Christian  graves  were  empty,  he 
confidently  declared  that  Christ  had  already  come,  and  that 
the  saints,  already  seated  upon  their  thrones,  had  begun  their 
millennial  reign.  Others  have  fixed  the  date  at  1904,  1914, 
1927,  the  latest  date  given  being  that  of  1972. 

If  the  principles  herein  set  forth  are  correct  this  whole  mil- 
lennial scheme  rests  upon  a  most  stupendous  exegetical 
blunder,  which  must  be  corrected  in  the  interests  of  truth. 

Correlate  Phases  of  Draconic  Restraint 
These  phases  already  passed  in  review  in  the  development 
of  this  study  show  that  we  are  not  here  dealing  with  a  terminal 
episode  of  this  great  drama,  but  with  a  generic  principle  which 
ramifies  its  entire  plan.  In  this  terminal  section  it  is  but  the 
accentuated  characterization  of  what  has  been  repeatedly,  in 
varied  phase,  thrown  upon  the  screen  as  the  successive  series 
have  readjusted  the  mystic  drapery  of  the  passing  panorama. 
Both  these  phases,  of  restraint  and  of  loosing,  rise  to  view 
either  as  distinctly  relating  to  the  dragon  or  to  some  factor 
which  he  animates,  or  through  which  he  puts  forth  his  action, 
in  the  same  structural  order  in  each  successive  series.  A  brief 
recapitulation  here  will  indicate  the  strength  of  this  position 
as  these  converging  figures  are  more  clearly  deployed. 

Restraint  may  be  said  to  be  nowhere  apparent  within  the  lines 
of  the  epistles ;  but  this  is  as  it  should  be,  for  their  scope  is  that 
of  the  loosing.  This  is  evident  in  the  fact  that  their  sphere  is 
subsequent  to  the  cross  and  that  three  progressive  phases  of 
Satanic  activity  are  characterized  as  (i)  the  Satanic  syna- 
gogue, (2)  the  Satanic  throne,  and  (3)  the  Satanic  depths, 
which  are  correlate  with  the  scarlet  symbolism. 

Passing  now  to  the  seals,  we  find  both  the  main  and  con- 
trastive  sections  reflecting  the  same  generic  features  within  the 
same  structural  topographical  lines.  The  restraint  first  appears 
within  the  lines  of  the  quadrate  and  the  loosing  within  those 
of  the  triad.    As  the  quadrate  figures  which  emerge  from  the 


392  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

loosened  seals  go  forth  upon  their  mission  of  destruction  and 
death  we  recognize  that  they  do  so  under  divine  restraint. 

In  the  triad  two  phases  of  symbol  are  presented:  The  first, 
the  great  sacrificial  altar,  with  its  double  grouping  of  martyrs 
bisected  by  the  fact  of  the  giving  of  the  white  robes.  The 
second  relates  to  the  great  earthquake,  in  the  development  of 
which  prophetic  symbolism  is  employed  which  distinctly  falls 
to  the  period  of  the  loosing,  and  thus  in  a  most  satisfactory 
manner  establishes  here  at  the  headlands  of  the  celestial  series 
the  topographical  lines  which  will  be  found  to  be  rigidly  dom- 
inant throughout  the  book.  In  the  contrastive  section,  which 
lies  within  its  terminal  seals,  there  are  but  three  phases  of  char- 
acterization, this  principle  also  holding  throughout  the  book. 
The  first  introduces  ( i )  the  malevolent  four  winds  under  divine 
restraint  until  (2)  the  sealing  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  shall 
have  been  accomplished.  Sequent  to  this  we  have  (3)  the  scene  of 
Christian  triumph,  beyond  the  lines  of  the  great  tribulation  out 
of  which  this  mighty  host  which  no  man  can  number  emerges 
with  their  garments  washed  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 
The  contrastive  topography  of  the  entire  field  of  vision,  with 
all  its  involutions,  is  here  thrown  upon  the  screen.  In  neither 
of  these  groupings,  either  main  or  contrastive,  can  there  be 
found  an  opening  for  the  insertion  of  the  millennial  scheme, 
as  it  cannot  be  in  Christ's  Eschatological  Address. 

Passing  now  to  the  trumpets,  we  find  another  adverse  quad- 
rate and  again  this  principle  of  divine  restraint.  Again  two 
paragraphs  of  the  triad  present  their  mystic  disclosures.  First 
we  have  the  opening  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  the  locust  infer- 
nals  operating  under  divine  restraint  with  respect  to  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel;  second,  the  Euphrates  demons,  which  deluge 
the  earth  as  the  bonds  are  loosed  from  the  four  angels  which 
have  been  previously  bound  in  the  great  river.  Again,  in 
the  same  structural  order,  there  follows  the  contrastive  section, 
at  the  head  of  which  stands  the  angel  of  the  Pneumatophany. 
Here  the  great  temple  of  God  rises  to  view  as  the  antithesis 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  393 

of  the  pit.  The  phase  next  developed  marks  the  mystic  chro- 
nology of  the  ''times  of  the  Gentiles."  Restraint  also  is  appar- 
ent here.  They  can  penetrate  no  farther  than  the  outer  court  of 
the  great  temple  of  God,  and  they  can  trample  upon  the  holy 
city  only  "forty-two  months."  The  third  phase  deals  with  the 
testimony,  slaughter,  and  assumption  of  the  Two  Witnesses, 
the  latter  being  coincident  with  the  great  earthquake.  The 
topographical  lines  projected  here  are  as  perfect  as  are  those 
of  a  mathematical  figure. 

In  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany  which  follows,  and  which 
deals  with  the  symbolism  of  the  third  woe,  which,  as  a  whole 
series,  follows  the  blast  of  the  seventh  trumpet,  the  dragon  is 
introduced,  and  this  divine  restraint  immediately  put  upon  him 
at  the  very  headwaters  of  the  first  section,  upon  the  celestial 
plane,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Eternal  Throne.  The  war  in 
heaven  ensues  upon  the  same  elevated  plane.  Satan  is  here 
defeated  and  cast  down  to  earth,  and,  in  consequence,  loosed 
in  the  earth,  for  he  goeth  forth  in  great  rage,  knowing  that  he 
hath  but  "a  short  time."  In  his  "great  rage"  he  deluges  earth 
with  the  miseries  of  its  culmination  of  woe.  Again  there  is 
perfect  topographical  accord.  The  woe  figures  comprise  the 
two  theria — the  one  from  the  sea  and  the  other  out  of  the 
earth ;  the  former  dominant  in  both  these  mystic  periods,  the 
latter  clearly  in  that  of  the  second,  or  period  of  the  loosing. 
Themetamorphic  character  of  this  therionic  symbolism,  as  it  re- 
appears in  the  Trilogy,  is  especially  marked.  It  is  there  said 
of  the  beast,  "which  was,  is  not,  and  shall  ascend  out  of  the 
bottomless  pit,  and  go  into  perdition." 

The  fresh  incursion  into  the  earth  of  this  marine  monster, 
who  wears  the  likeness  of  the  dragon  and  who  is  throned  by 
him  as  he  now  ascends  from  the  bottomless  pit,  simply  presents 
as  thinly  veiled  the  fact  of  the  loosing  of  Satan  himself. 

In  the  second  section  of  the  Trilogy,  while  the  white  horse 
symbol  again  takes  us  back  to  the  headlands  of  the  symbolism, 
consistency  is  maintained  in  the  fact  that  the  great  battle  is 


394  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

fought  in  the  Hght  of  the  cross,  and  with  the  chains  off  the 
great  antagonist. 

We  now  come  to  this  final  section  of  the  Trilogy  to  find  it 
presenting  just  these  two  great  generic  phases  again,  con- 
fronting us  in  exactly  the  same  structural  order  of  sequence, 
and  unquestionably  with  the  same  chronological  and  topo- 
graphical reference.  It  therefore  simply  remains  for  us  to  inter- 
pret this  section  in  the  full  glare  of  this  great  body  of  reflective 
light  that  has  been  thrown  upon  it,  to  round  out  in  symmetrical 
completeness  the  whole  mighty  scheme  of  the  enunciation  of 
this  mystic  body  of  truth. 

(i)  The  Angel  with  the  Key  and  Chain 
It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell  upon  the  leading  figure  as  it  now 
is  disclosed,  standing  at  the  door  of  the  pit  with  the  key  and 
great  chain.  It  was  the  first  Adam  that  flung  this  door  wide. 
It  is  the  second  who,  in  a  mystic  sense,  is  here  shown  as  re- 
trieving the  results  of  his  fearful  act.  With  respect  to  this 
phase  of  the  subject  there  is  little  ground  for  controversy. 
The  conception  of  a  literal  chain  binding  a  spirit,  or  of  a  literal 
key  holding  it  in  ward  for  a  thousand  years,  is  too  puerile  to 
be  dignified  with  discussion. 

That  there  are  chains  capable  of  binding  spirits  is  placed 
beyond  question  by  the  statements  of  Saint  Peter  and  Saint 
Jude.  The  former  says,  "God  spared  not  the  angels  which 
sinned,  but  cast  them  down  to  Tartarus,  and  delivered  them  into 
chains,  to  be  reserved  unto  judgment"  (2  Pet.  2.  4)  ;  the  latter, 
"And  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their 
own  habitation,  he  hath  reserved  in  everlasting  chains,  under 
darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day"  (Jude  6).  Here 
we  have  the  record.  Tartarus,  everlasting  chains,  and  darkness 
was  the  fate  of  those  angels  that  sinned,  Including  their  chief. 
This  fall  of  the  sons  of  the  morning  antedated  the  creation  of 
man,  and  consequently  these  chains  were  then  upon  these 
lost  spirits ;  but  this  fact  did  not  prevent  the  old  serpent  from 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  395 

getting  in  his  deadly  work  in  the  garden.  Again,  these  lost 
spirits,  reserved  in  these  everlasting  chains  in  the  darkness  of 
Tartarus,  were  very  much  in  evidence  during  the  ministry  of 
our  Lord.  Here  is  proof  positive  that  Tartarean  chains  in 
these  instances  did  not  prevent  the  presence  and  infernal  activ- 
ity of  Satan  and  his  angels  in  the  earth.  The  bearing  of  this 
fact  on  the  case  in  hand  is  obvious.  It  certainly  gives  ground 
for  the  suggestion  that  possibly  we  have  failed  to  grasp  the 
full  significance  of  this  Satanic  restraint.  With  the  fact  before 
us  that  every  correlate  phase  presented  in  the  preceding  sec- 
tions of  the  book,  save  possibly  the  thrall  of  the  four  winds, 
simply  places  a  divine  limitation  upon  the  king  of  the  infernals, 
instead  of  banishing  him  from  the  earth,  it  may  be  possible  that 
there  has  been  as  great  misapprehension  of  the  character  of  this 
binding  of  the  dragon  as  there  certainly  has  with  respect  to 
the  period  to  which  it  was  supposed  to  relate. 

The  critical  study  of  the  verbiage  of  this  celebrated  section 
of  the  Apocalypse,  in  the  light  thrown  upon  it  in  the  preceding 
pages,  will  show  how  the  imagination  has  overworked  the 
mystic  utterances  of  this  terminal  part  of  the  Trilog}^  We 
are  surprised  to  find  how  much  it  is  supposed  to  say  that  it 
does  not  say  and  cannot,  legitimately,  be  made  to  say  under 
the  rigid  law  that  governs  apocalyptic  characterization.  The 
efifect  is  to  disabuse  the  mind  of  the  popular  conception  that 
this  section  deals  with  an  entirely  distinct  and  transcendent 
phase  of  the  world's  history,  lying  somewhere  beyond  the  con- 
fines of  the  present  age.  It  is  simply  a  coordinate  seven  whose 
enunciations  accentuate  the  dragonic  phase  of  the  fall  of  the 
great  city.  The  striking  peculiarity  of  the  parenthetic  seven, 
noted  previously  in  the  paragraphic  grouping  of  this  section, 
is  in  perfect  accord  with  the  principle  that  governs  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Contrastive  Counterpart.  As  employed  here, 
in  both  the  quadrate  and  the  triad,  it  indicates  the  structural 
inclusion  of  the  content  of  these  paragraphs  within  the  lines 
of  the  seven  which  they  bisect.     The  quadrate  gives  us   (i) 


396  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  binding  of  the  dragon,  (2)  this  triad  of  the  thrones,  which 
is  followed  (3)  by  the  full  seven  relating  to  the  reign  of  the 
spirits  of  the  martyrs  with  Christ,  and  then  (4)  this  quadrate 
with  respect  to  the  first  resurrection.  This  structural  feature 
is  profoundly  significant.  It  brings  before  us  again,  in  changed 
expression,  (i)  the  thrall  of  the  four  winds,  (2)  the  sealed 
tribes  of  Israel,  (3)  the  universal  gathering  of  the  great  white- 
robed  throng.  We  are  thus  carried  back  to  the  headlands  of 
the  drama.  The  paragraph  included  parenthetically  in  the 
second  section  deals  with  the  general  resurrection  of  the  dead 
and  the  judgment.  The  repetition  of  this  structural  feature 
is  too  striking  not  to  have  a  most  important  significance. 

Let  the  seven  of  the  binding  now  be  carefully  studied: 
(i)  the  angel  with  the  key;  (2)  great  chain;  (3)  the  binding; 
(4)  casting  into  the  pit;  (5)  shut  up;  (6)  sealed;  (7)  loosed 
for  a  little  season. 

Here  we  have  the  numeric  completeness  of  this  first  para- 
graph as  under  the  governing  structural  law  of  the  book.  The 
next  paragraph  stands  by  itself,  having  the  same  trine  prin- 
ciple of  enunciation,  but  in  its  final  member  containing  a  full 
seven  and  the  evidence  of  an  interpolation ;  but  before  con- 
sidering this  attention  may  be  profitably  directed  to  a  possible 
correction  in  the  rendering  of  the  text,  in  the  light  of  facts 
that  have  been  developed. 

Throughout  the  entire  Bible  a  fundamental  distinction  is 
made  between  the  "kingdom  of  God"  and  "the  nations,"  or  Israel 
and  the  Gentiles.  That  this  fact  enters  into  the  mystic  charac- 
terizations of  the  Apocalypse  has  been  too  positively  estab- 
lished to  admit  of  question.  It  is  Israel  who  receive  the  divine 
seal  of  this  kingdom  in  their  foreheads,  while  the  Gentiles  are 
the  dominant  factor  in  the  treading  down  of  the  holy  city. 
In  the  New  Testament  the  word  ethnos  occurs  one  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  times.  In  ninety-two  instances  it  is  translated 
"Gentiles"  and  thirty-seven  times  "nations."  It  occurs  in  the 
Apocalypse  twenty  times,  and  is  invariably  rendered  "nations," 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  397 

save  in  the  one  instance  alluded  to  above.  If  the  same  ratio 
had  continued,  with  respect  to  the  rendering  of  this  word  in 
the  Apocalypse  as  in  the  rest  of  the  New  Testament,  we  should 
have  had  ''Gentiles"  at  least  sixteen  times  where  now  we  have 
nations.  If  substituted  in  the  text  under  consideration  it  will 
add  a  new  aspect  to  the  case. 

The  passage  then  will  read:  "that  he  should  deceive  the 
Gentiles  no  more  till  the  thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled, 
and  after  that  he  must  be  loosed  for  a  little  season" — mani- 
festly, to  deceive  the  Gentiles.  The  restraint  that  was  placed 
upon  the  locust  infernal,  it  will  be  remembered,  prevented  its 
harming  any  save  those  men  who  had  not  the  seal  of  God  in 
their  foreheads.  Israel  had  it;  the  Gentiles  had  not.  When 
Satan  is  loosed  he  goes  forth  *'to  deceive  the  Gentiles  which 
are  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  Gog  and  Magog,  to 
gather  them  together  to  battle :  the  number  of  whom  is  as  the 
sand  of  the  sea."  Gog  and  Magog  were  Gentile.  The  enumer- 
ation of  the  nations  which  comprise  this  mighty  coalition,  in 
the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel,  shows  that  it  is  Gentile  throughout, 
and  that  it  is  arrayed  against  Israel  and  Judah  in  a  battle  unto 
the  death.  The  annihilation  of  Gog  on  the  mountains  of  Israel 
reestablishes  the  theocracy  and  gives  us  the  glimpse  of  a 
coming  glorious  Israelite  city  (compare  chapter  12.  9,  where 
in  connection  with  his  loosing  in  the  earth  it  is  said  that  he 
"deceiveth  the  whole  world"). 

The  Basis  of  the  Symbol  of  the  Thousand  Years 
The  author  understands  it  to  be  a  symbol ;  a  numeric  mys- 
ticism— like  all  other  numbers  of  the  book — and  no  more  sus- 
ceptible of  a  literal  interpretation  than  the  heads  and  horns  of 
the  beast  or  the  cubic  dimensions  of  the  glorious  city  that 
comes  down  from  God  out  of  heaven.  To  .take  this  one  lone 
number  as  a  literalism,  in  a  book  that  is  built  upon  the  mystic 
principle  from  beginning  to  end,  is  to  violate  every  rule  of 
interpretation    upon    which    enunciation    is    grounded,    vitiate 


398  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

every  position  established,  and  to  take  leave  of  sane  exegesis 
as  of  good  common  sense. 

That  there  are  difficulties  connected  with  the  interpretation 
of  this  number  is  evidenced  by  the  confusion  that  reigns  with 
respect  to  it.  The  first  arises  when  we  attempt  to  adjust  it 
with  its  correlates.  If  we  take  the  ''twelve  hundred  and  sixty 
days,"  forty-two  months,  "time,  times,  and  a  half,"  as  denoting 
literal  time  periods  we  are  compelled  to  crowd  all  the  issues 
associate  with  them  into  an  utterly  unthinkable  three  years  and 
a  half.  Consequently,  to  prevent  taking  leave  of  all  reason, 
the  year-day  theory  is  advanced.  But  this  gives  to  the  beast 
a  longer  reign  on  the  earth,  by  two  hundred  and  sixty  years, 
than  that  of  Christ  in  the  millennium.  The  period  of  the  testi- 
fying of  the  two  witnesses  must  also  be  made  to  conform,  and 
injects  a  puzzling  chronological  difficulty  for  our  chiliastic 
friends.  These  witnesses  are  universally  held  by  them  as  being 
factors  of  the  future.  But  what  can  be  done  with  a  period 
of  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  years  during  which  they  may 
prophesy  in  sackcloth,  shutting  heaven  that  it  rain  not,  turning 
rivers  into  blood,  and  smiting  the  earth  with  all  manner  of 
plagues  as  often  as  they  will,  with  the  millennium  even  now 
at  the  doors?  Such  prophesying  is  out  of  harmony  with  the 
conceived  character  of  the  millennial  reign,  and  the  era  is  not 
long  enough  for  them  to  finish  their  testimony,  and  the  beast 
that  must  slay  them  has  ceased  to  be  an  active  agency  in  the 
earth  for  at  least  this  full  period.  Hence  they  either  ignore 
these  difficulties  altogether  or  else  violate  the  law  of  symbolic 
inflexibility  by  reducing  the  period  to  literality.  The  latter 
method  is  usually  employed,  and  is  conceived  to  be  justified 
in  the  fact  that  a  longer  period  than  three  days  and  a  half 
could  hardly  be  allowed  for  the  dead  bodies  of  the  witnesses 
to  lie  in  the  streets  of  the  great  city  awaiting  the  sepulture 
which  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  in  that  short  time,  by  concert, 
deny. 

Dr.  Whedon  clearly  saw  that  the  year-day  method  of  dealing 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  399 

with  these  half-sevens  could  not  be  accepted  without  involving 
this  ranking  millennial  number,  and  he  expressed  his  amaze- 
ment at  the  possibility  of  Christ's  reigning  upon  this  earth,  and 
of  Satan  languishing  in  prison,  for  the  extended  period  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  years. 

It  has  been  satisfactorily  shown  in  the  preceding  pages 
that  the  entire  body  of  apocalyptic  symbolism  finds  its  basis 
in  the  Old  Testament.  Looking  for  this  of  the  thousand 
years,  we  find  that  we  are  shut  up  to  one  lone  passage  as 
having  any  suggestions  of  such  a  possible  use.  It  is  found  in 
Psa.  90.  4 :  "A  thousand  years  in  thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday 
when  it  is  past,  and  as  a  watch  in  the  night."  The  New  Testa- 
ment, in  like  manner,  has  but  one  such  passage :  "But,  beloved, 
be  not  ignorant  of  this  one  thing;  that  one  day  is  with  the 
Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day" 
(2  Pet.  3.  8). 

Having  mastered  the  method  of  the  Apocalypse,  it  needs 
but  a  glance  at  this  Old  Testament  passage  to  see  its  mystic 
possibilities.  It  has  a  double  significance :  (i)  as  relating  to 
the  yesterday  of  the  past;  (2)  as  a  watch  in  the  night.  The 
thousand  years  of  Satanic  restraint  may  thus  be  conceived  as 
I  have  held,  to  be  antecedent  to  the  triumph  of  the  atonement, 
while  the  "watch  in  the  night"  coincides  with  the  gospel  age, 
which  begins  with  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant  upon 
the  horns  of  the  altar  and  a  loosened  devil  going  forth  in 
the  earth  in  great  rage,  knowing  that  he  hath  but  a  short 
time. 

The  comment  upon  this  passage  in  Peter  confirms  its  mystic 
significance  and  its  tropical  indefiniteness.  No  more  elastic 
expression  can  be  found  in  the  entire  Bible  for  concealing 
the  real  time-period  involved — the  mystic  factors  in  the  case 
being  the  "yesterday"  of  the  past  and  the  "watch  in  the  night." 
Can  this  suggestion  of  dual  millennial  periods  be  sustained? 
If  this  number  be  conceived  as  a  literalism,  and  the  section 
in  which  it  occurs  a  series  of  detailed  sequences,  the  task  is 


400  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

certainly  a  most  difficult  one.  But  if  we  admit  that  it  is  a 
mystic  number  and  that  it  occurs  in  diverse  paragraphs,  which 
the  whole  body  of  the  book  now  passed  in  review  proves  are 
not  to  be  viewed  as  sequences  but  independent  utterances,  they 
may  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner  as  the  two  half-sevens 
which  mark  the  period  of  Satanic  restraint  and  loosing  at  the 
head  of  the  book  of  the  Pneumatophany.  There  these  two 
periods,  as  they  relate  to  the  adverse  wilderness  state  of  the 
sun-robed  woman,  are  significant  of  imperfection.  The  dual 
forty-two  months,  as  measuring  the  lifetime  of  the  beast  and 
the  period  of  Gentile  supremacy,  may  be  given  the  same  par- 
titive significance.  But  now,  as  we  approach  the  end  of  the 
panorama  and  the  perspective  widens,  these  mystic  time- 
periods  are  developed  from  another  base.  It  is  the  cube  of  the 
universal  number  ten.  Its  reflex  will  appear  in  the  cubic 
splendors  of  the  celestial  city,  next  to  rise  to  view.  These  two 
periods  of  Satanic  deception  having  been  previously  discussed, 
I  need  but  allude  to  them  here.  The  binding  of  Satan,  that 
he  should  deceive  the  nations  or  Gentiles  no  more  till  the 
thousand  years  should  be  fulfilled,  is  not  to  be  understood  as 
delivering  the  whole  world  completely  from  his  presence  and 
power,  but  that  he  would  not  he  permitted  to  add  any  nezv 
phase  of  deception  to  that  zvhich  wrecked  the  race,  until  the 
fact  of  its  redemption  should  he  estahlished;  after  which  he 
would  darken  the  very  sun  in  the  heavens. 

(2)  The  Enthronement  of  the  Saints 
This  paragraph  consists  of  the  triad  of  a  bisected  seven. 
He  says,  "(i)  And  I  saw  thrones,  (2)  and  they  sat  upon  them, 
(3)  and  judgment  was  given  unto  them."  The  thought  is 
complete  with  respect  to  this  disclosure.  The  sweep  of  vision 
here  touches  three  points  in  the  great  circle  of  apocalyptic 
characterization.  The  indefinite  manner  in  which  these  throned 
ones  are  introduced  suggests  previous  acquaintance  with  them. 
The  key  word  is  "judgment."    They  are  the  altar  group,  who 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  401 

cried,  "How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge, 
and  avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?  And 
white  robes  were  given  unto  every  one  of  them,  and  it  was 
said  unto  them,  that  they  should  rest  yet  for  a  little  season, 
until  their  fellow  servants  and  their  brethren,  that  should  be 
killed  as  they  were,  should  be  fulfilled." 

Vision  passes  here  in  mighty  strides  from  the  point  where 
they  received  the  robes  to  that  where  judginent  was  given  unto 
them.  It  was  the  success  of  the  atonement  that  gave  them  their 
white  robes  and  a  throne  with  Christ  in  his  developing  king- 
dom.    The  parenthetic  seven  presents 

(3)  The  Millennial  Reign  of  the  Martyrs 
This  second  grouping  discloses  the  great  white-robed  throng 
of  the  martyrs  of  Christ  and  those  who  came  up  through  the 
great  tribulation — these  fellow  servants:  "(i)  And  I  saw  the 
souls  of  them  that  had  been  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus, 
(2)  and  for  the  Word  of  God,  (3)  and  which  had  not  wor- 
shiped the  beast,  (4)  neither  his  image,  (5)  neither  had  re- 
ceived his  mark  upon  their  foreheads,  (6)  or  in  their  hands; 
(7)  and  they  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand  years. 
(But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  until  the  thousand 
years  were  past.)" 

Paragraphic  completeness  here  utterly  precludes  construing 
this  grouping  with  that  of  the  first  resurrection.  It  relates  to 
the  souls  of  them  that  had  been  beheaded  for  their  faithful- 
ness to  Christ.  Under  a  strict  literal  construction  of  this  para- 
graph our  chiliastic  friends  should  very  largely  give  up  their 
hope  of  participating  in  the  first  resurrection.  Beheaded? 
Literally,  only  a  few. 

These  martyrs  cried  unto  God  for  judgment,  and  they  were 
bidden  to  rest  for  a  little  season.  Later  the  blessedness  of  this 
rest  is  touched  upon.  Dying  in  the  Lord,  they  "rest  from  their 
labors,  and  their  works  do  follow  them."  Christ  himself  hav- 
ing "offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  forever,  sat  down  on  the 


402  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

right  hand  of  God ;  from  henceforth  expecting  till  his  enemies 
be  made  his  footstool."  To  the  Laodiceans  he  gives  the  prom- 
ise, "To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in 
my  throne,  even  as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with 
my  Father  in  his  throne/'  Thus,  in  A.  D.  96,  he  was  on  the 
throne  of  his  Father.  This  throne  of  Christ  is  supported  by 
four  pillars — his  life,  utterances,  works,  and  vicarious  sacri- 
fice. In  the  same  manner  his  faithful  followers  conjointly 
reign  with  him.  They  are  the  channels  through  which  his 
truth  reaches  and  molds  the  thought  and  action  of  the  ages. 
Thus  they  sit  with  him  in  his  throne.  Abraham,  Moses,  David, 
the  prophets,  the  apostles,  are  all  on  thrones  as  long  as  the 
truths  they  uttered  are  regnant  in  the  earth.  Luther  will  sit 
upon  his  throne  as  long  as  sinners  shall  be  justified  by  faith, 
and  Wesley  while  the  blood  of  Christ  shall  cleanse  from  all 
sin.  Copernicus,  Newton,  Faraday,  Watt,  Morse,  and  a  host 
of  others  who  grasped  the  great  truths  of  God  and  gave  them 
to  the  world  are  to-day  wielding  scepters  over  the  mighty 
realm  of  human  thought.  "Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in 
the  Lord  from  henceforth :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may 
rest  from  their  labors;  and  their  works  do  follow  them." 
Silently  and  invisibly,  as  Christ  himself  rules,  so  these  to  whom 
he  imparts  his  Spirit,  and  whom  he  associates  with  himself  in 
giving  his  gospel  to  the  world,  sit  down  with  him  in  his  throne. 
These  millennial  thrones  are  thus  but  a  varied  phase  of  familiar 
truth. 

When  Does  Christ's  Reign  Begin? 

This  is  a  most  important  question,  and  at  the  risk  of  far 
transcending  the  limits  set  to  this  discussion  some  space  must 
be  given  to  its  examination.  The  popular  teaching  of  the  day 
asserts  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  Is  now  in  abeyance,  and 
will  be,  until  Christ  shall  return  to  inaugurate  it  by  the  binding 
of  Satan  and  the  raising  of  the  righteous  dead.  If  this  be  true, 
then  there  Is  a  large  body  of  Scripture  that  is  utterly  mis- 
leading— the   prophecies,   the   parables,   and    the    Apocalypse 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  403 

itself.  The  prophets  all  locate  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  the 
Messianic  period.  The  parables  of  our  Lord  all  recognize  the 
kingdom  as  John  proclaimed  it — at  hand.  It  cometh  not  with 
observation;  it  is  not  of  this  world;  it  is  within  you;  it  suf- 
fereth  violence  and  the  violent  take  it  by  force  since  the  days 
of  John  the  Baptist.  The  dark  side  of  the  book  of  the  Pneu- 
matophany  presents  the  picture  of  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
as  a  panoplied  reality  arrayed  against  a  reality  and  engaged 
in  a  struggle  unto  the  death.  The  power  which  at  last  triumphs 
is  *'the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ."  If  there  is 
no  active  kingdom  of  Christ  until  after  the  overthrow  of  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  and  the  banishment  of  Satan  from  the 
earth,  then  we  are  confounded  in  the  presence  of  the  fact  that 
the  mighty  Leader,  who  at  the  head  of  all  the  armies  of 
heaven  overthrows  the  beast,  false  prophet,  and  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  sweeps  over  the  great  battlefield  at  the  head  of  his 
white-robed  legions,  crowned  with  many  diadems,  and  with 
the  displayed  title  of  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  If  he 
is  not  a  King  at  this  point  the  symbolism  should  hardly  have 
disclosed  him  as  such.  If  he  is  not  a  King  the  second  psalm 
is  equally  astray  when  it  sets  him  on  Mount  Zion,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  kings  of  the  earth,  with  the  heathen  for  his  inherit- 
ance and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession.* 
One  passage  from  Daniel :  ''And  in  the  days  of  these  kings 
shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall  never 
be  destroyed :  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  to  other  peo- 
ple, but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  kingdoms, 
and  it  shall  stand  forever"  (Dan.  2.  44).  The  Annunciation 
promises  to  Christ  the  ''throne  of  his  father  David,  and  he 
shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever."  Peter,  standing 
before  the  Sanhedrin,  says,  "Him  hath  God  exalted  with  his 
right  hand  to  be  a  prince  and  a  saviour,  for  to  give  repentance 
to  Israel,  and  forgiveness  of  sins"  (Acts  5.  31).  Paul  quotes 
Isaiah:  "Again,  Esaias  saith,  There  shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse, 
and  he  shall  rise  to  reign  over  the  Gentiles ;  in  him  shall  the 


404  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Gentiles  trust"  (Rom.  15.  12).  In  his  great  discourse  upon 
the  resurrection  he  makes  this  statement:  *'For  as  in  Adam 
all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.  But  every 
man  in  his  own  order:  Christ  the  firstfruits;  afterward  they 
that  are  Christ's  at  his  coming.  Then  cometh  the  end.  When 
he  shall  have  delivered  up  the  kingdom  to  God,  even  the 
Father;  zvhen  he  shall  have  put  down  all  rule  and  all  authority 
and  power.  For  he  must  reign,  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies 
under  his  feet.  The  last  enemy  that  shall  he  destroyed  is 
death"  (i  Cor.  15.  22-26). 

The  fact  of  the  resurrection  is  here  shown  to  be  coincident 
with  the  coming  of  Christ,  and  then  cometh  the  end.  The 
statement  that  he  must  reign  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under 
his  feet  can  have  no  other  meaning  than  that  his  sovereignty 
will  be  disputed  by  his  enemies  throughout  its  entire  course, 
till  at  last  it  becomes  triumphant. 

A  most  important  utterance  of  our  Lord,  recorded  by  both 
Matthew  and  Luke:  "And  Jesus  said,  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
that  ye  that  have  followed  me,  in  the  regeneration,  when  the 
Son  of  man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye  also  shall 
sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel" 
(Matt.  19.  28).  Luke  is  still  more  explicit.  He  says,  "Ye  are 
they  which  have  continued  with  me  in  my  temptations.  And  I 
appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  even  as  my  Father  hath  appointed 
unto  me;  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my  king- 
dom, and  sit  on  thrones  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel" 
(Luke  22.  28-30).  The  kingdom  here  appointed  unto  them 
was  his  kingdom,  and  its  constituency  that  recognized  by  the 
angel  of  the  Annunciation — the  house  of  Jacob ;  here  specifi- 
cally designated  as  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  Grant  that 
these  were  the  thrones  that  John  saw  in  this  vision,  and  we 
have  a  reason  for  the  division  noted  between  them  and  the 
souls  of  them  that  had  been  beheaded  for  the  witness  of  Jesus. 
It  specializes  the  fact  of  the  reward  of  the  apostles  in  the  same 
manner  as  Jesus  here  does  in  the  promise  made.     From  the 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  405 

standpoint  of  modern  criticism  this  judging  of  the  twelve 
tribes  by  the  apostles  presents  a  most  perplexing  situation; 
but  how  consistent  its  adjustment  in  this  symbolism,  where 
we  behold  the  whole  of  these  twelve  tribes  pass  in  review  to 
receive  the  divine  seal  in  their  foreheads,  and  then  to  range 
themselves  with  Christ  on  Mount  Zion,  to  follow  him  on  the 
great  field  of  battle,  and  then  to  have  their  names  emblazoned 
upon  the  gates  of  the  ctiy !  We  may  be  puzzled  over  the  pres- 
ence of  this  Israelite  imagery  in  the  Apocalypse,  but  we  cannot 
deny  the  fact  of  its  consistency  with  the  imperative  demands 
of  both  Old  and  New  Testament  eschatology. 

Ere  we  take  leave  of  this  most  impressive  paragraph  atten- 
tion must  be  directed  to  the  perplexing  statement  with  which 
it  ends :  "The  rest  of  the  dead  Hved  not  till  the  thousand  years 
should  be  finished." 

Its  design  is  evidently  that  of  an  antithesis  to  the  preceding 
statement  with  respect  to  these  living  souls  who  had  been  be- 
headed, but  who  live  and  reign  with  Christ  during  this  mil- 
lennial period.  These  souls,  as  the  rest  of  the  dead,  lived  not 
till  the  thousand  years  were  ended.  No  hedging  upon  the  elas- 
ticity of  the  word  *'souls"  will  relieve  the  situation  which  here 
arises.  Those  sitting  upon  these  thrones  were  souls  living 
after  they  had  been  beheaded,  and  reigning  with  their  Lord, 
who  also  had  tasted  death,  while  the  "rest"  are  simply  dead 
souls.  Did  they  live  up  to  the  point  of  the  beginning  of  the 
thousand  years,  and  then  die  for  this  period  ?  The  passage  is 
of  little  service  to  the  doctrine  of  the  "soul  sleeper,"  for  it 
discloses  souls,  without  the  body,  living  and  active  in  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  The  annihilationist  may  find  it  serviceable,  as 
anticipative  of  the  final  blotting  out  of  the  wicked;  though 
why  they  should  be  blotted  out  for  a  whole  thousand  years 
and  then  brought  into  life  again  for  a  moment,  to  be  speedily 
blotted  out  forever,  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  understand. 
But  we  are  precluded  from  a  too  positive  dogmatism  here  by 
the  questionable  authenticity  of  the  passage.     It  is  not  found 


4o6  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

in  the  Tischendorf  manuscript,  nor  in  the  old  Syriac;  in  fact, 
it  is  not  found  in  any  manuscript  older  than  the  fifth  century, 
while  the  variations  noted  in  the  manuscripts  where  it  is  found 
bear  the  infallible  earmarks  of  corruption.  Again,  the  struc- 
tural law  of  paragraphic  enunciation  stamps  it  as  an  interpola- 
tion. It  is  a  redundancy  in  the  paragraph  with  which  it  of 
necessity  must  be  construed.  Did  the  revisers  leave  it  as  a 
concession  to  chiliasm? 

(4)  The  First  Resurrection 
The  abrupt  introduction,  "This  is  the  first  resurrection," 
must  be  understood  as  relating  to  this  paragraph,  with  which 
it  must  be  construed,  and  not  to  the  preceding,  which  is  com- 
plete in  itself.  The  meaning  is  that  the  quadrate  of  this  para- 
graph presents  the  fact  of  the  first  resurrection.  That  the 
statement  touches  a  great  mystery  need  not  be  denied;  that  it 
bristles  with  difficulties  may  be  also  admitted;  but,  as  will 
appear,  the  fact  is  legitimately  here,  as  the  reflex  of  a  most 
important,  though  most  occult,  Old  Testament  eschatological 
presentment.  The  quadrate  expression  of  the  paragraph  is 
as  clear  as  the  triad  is  in  the  antecedent  paragraph  which  it  is 
here  conceived  to  complete. 

"This  is  the  first  resurrection,  (i)  Blessed  and  holy  is  he 
that  hath  part  in  the  first  resurrection:  (2)  on  such  the  second 
death  hath  no  power;  (3)  but  they  shall  be  priests  of  God, 
and  of  Christ,  (4)  and  shall  reign  with  him  a  thousand  years." 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  duration  of  the  reign  of  this  group- 
ing of  the  throned  ones  of  the  triad  is  not  stated ;  that  of  those 
who  had  been  beheaded  for  their  loyalty  to  Christ  is  given 
as  a  thousand  years.  The  exaltation  of  both  these  groupings, 
as  upon  thrones,  and  as  reigning  with  Christ,  is  in  the  world 
of  spirits ;  for,  as  the  martyred  dead,  their  abode  is  in  the  spirit 
world.  It  was  for  the  witness  of  Jesus  that  they  yielded  up 
their  lives.  This  fact  throws  the  thousand  years  of  their  reign 
with  him  as  subsequent  to  the  beginning  of  the  gospel  age, 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  407 

while  the  fact  that  the  conditions  which  confronted  them  be- 
long to  the  era  of  the  false  prophet  gives  an  additional  proof 
that  their  thousand  years  is  that  of  the  ''watch  in  the  night," 
or  the  period  of  Satan's  loosing. 

An  event  of  such  world-wide  and  age-long  importance  as 
this,  and  which  is  dignified  by  being  classed  with  that  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  needs  no  other  certificate  of  char- 
acter. That  its  period  is  marked  by  the  ranking  mystic  time- 
number  of  the  book  is  in  keeping  with  the  transcendent 
conception  characterized.  That  we  find  such  an  event  as  this 
forming  a  part  of  this  apocalyptic  scheme  of  world-conflict 
is  sufficient  to  throw  us  back  upon  the  fundamentals  of  Old 
Testament  eschatology  for  an  explanation  of  its  meaning;  for 
it  is  unthinkable  that  an  event  of  such  transcendent  importance 
would  be  relegated  to  one  brief  apocalyptic  paragraph. 

Turning  thus  to  the  Old  Testament  for  the  base  of  this  sym- 
bol, we  find  that  its  great  central  theme,  which  runs  from 
Genesis  to  Malachi,  comprehends  some  such  stupendous  event 
as  this  in  connection  with  the  developments  of  the  Messianic 
age ;  and  this,  in  fact,  is  definitely  set  forth  under  the  very 
simile  here  employed.  The  divine  kingdom  is  trodden  under 
the  foot  of  the  alien ;  the  chosen  people  of  Israel,  who  were 
pledged  as  its  eternal  constituency,  are  scattered  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth  only  to  be  as  surely  gathered  again  under  the 
banner  of  their  Messiah.  This  regathering  of  Israel,  as  will 
be  conclusively  shown,  is  characterized  by  the  prophets  as  a 
resurrection  from  the  dead.  We  need  but  to  take  one  instance, 
that  most  striking  and  weird  picture  painted  by  Ezekiel  with 
respect  to  the  valley  of  dry  bones,  to  find  a  coincidence  that 
fully  covers  the  case.  The  fact  that  this  great  resurrection 
from  this  death  valley  of  Israel  occupies  the  same  relation  to 
the  battle  of  Gog-Magog  that  this  first  resurrection  of  the 
Apocalypse  does  ought  long  ere  this  to  have  led  to  the  solution 
of  this  unyielding  paragraph. 

The  theme  reaches  back  to  the  headlands  of  divine  revelation 


4o8  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

as  the  antithesis  of  the  "first  death"  sentence  which  was  passed 
and  executed  upon  the  federal  head  of  the  race.  The  promise 
of  a  Redeemer  is  the  pledge  that  the  fearful  sentence  may  be 
finally  canceled.  This  glorious  hope  involves  the  first  resur- 
rection. The  solemn  oath  of  Jehovah  assures  to  Abraham 
the  heirship  of  the  world,  with  the  promise  of  a  progeny  as 
the  dust  of  the  earth,  the  sands  of  the  sea,  and  as  the  stars 
of  heaven,  and  that  in  him  and  in  his  seed  all  the  families 
of  the  earth  would  be  blessed.  This  heirship  of  the  world 
henceforth  becomes  the  dominant  thought  in  the  mind  of  the 
Hebrew  race.  It  set  Abraham  himself  looking  forward  for 
a  city  that  had  foundations.  Perhaps  he  saw  it  as  the  veil 
lifted  upon  the  glory  of  "that  day"  which  he  did  see,  which 
thrilled  his  patriarchal  breast  with  joy.  When  the  dying  Jacob 
blessed  the  sons  of  Joseph  he  transferred  to  their  heads  this 
Abrahamic  legacy,  as  the  hands  of  his  father  Isaac  had  con- 
ferred it  upon  him.  To  Ephraim,  the  younger,  he  pledges 
"a  multitude  of  nations  in  the  midst  of  the  earth";  and  later 
supplements  the  bestowment  by  devising  unto  Joseph  a  legacy 
of  such  material  and  spiritual  riches  as  would  almost  bankrupt 
both  earth  and  heaven.  Its  realization  was  to  be  in  the  distant 
day  when  the  Shiloh  should  have  come  to  Judah,  for  the  dying 
patriarch  makes  it  clear  that  this  wonderful  horoscope,  cast 
for  his  stalwart  sons,  refers  in  a  distinct  sense  to  the  Messianic 
day.  As  he  turns  to  Judah  he  makes  the  celebrated  promise 
with  respect  to  the  coming  of  the  Shiloh,  but  also  adds  a 
pledge  whose  significance  has  somehow  been  strangely  over- 
looked :  "The  scepter  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  law- 
giver from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come;  unto  him 
shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  he.'' 

This  gathering  of  the  people  unto  Shiloh  presupposes  their 
scattering.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  recognition  of  the  fateful 
world-history  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.  Moses,  later,  with  a 
marvelous  prevision,  prophetically  scatters  them  throughout 
the  whole  earth  and  submerges  them  under  the  hostile  foot  of 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  409 

the  Gentiles.  He  beholds  Judah  strangely  separated  from  the 
rest  of  the  tribes,  and  puts  up  this  prayer  for  him:  "Hear, 
Lord,  the  cry  of  Judah,  and  bring  him  unto  his  people/'  He 
sees  the  day  of  their  punishment  end,  after  they  have  drunk  the 
bitter  cup  of  humiliation  to  the  dregs;  then,  Hke  a  great  lion 
leaping  from  his  lair,  Israel  would  arise  and  crush  the  nations, 
break  their  bones  and  devour  them,  and  then  dwell  alone  in 
the  earth  in  a  state  of  supreme  felicity.  We  pass  these  occult 
pencilings  of  the  desert  and  move  forward  half  a  millennium. 
David  is  on  the  throne  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  Nathan  the 
prophet  stands  before  him  with  the  promise  of  a  kingdom  that 
would  finally  whelm  all  opposition,  become  supreme  in  the 
earth,  and  last  through  the  eternal  ages,  with  his  royal  seed 
upon  its  throne.  And  its  constituency  is  the  chosen  people 
of  Israel,  the  Israel  over  whom  he  was  then  reigning.  With 
respect  to  this  Davidic  throne  the  following  scriptures  may  be 
profitably  studied:  2  Sam.  7.  4-17;  Isa.  9.  6-9;  14.  1-9;  22. 
20-22;  55.  3-5;  Jer.  23.  1-8;  30.  i-ii;  31.  14-37;  Ezek.  34. 
20-31;  37.  21-28;  Hos.  3.  5;  Amos  9.  II,  12;  Zech.  12.  7-14; 
13.  I.  These  references,  which  might  be  multiplied  to  an  un- 
limited extent,  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  nature  of  the  task 
that  was  laid  upon  the  apocalyptist  by  the  fact  that  he  did 
not  harbor  a  suspicion  that  every  jot  and  tittle  of  these  proph- 
ecies would  not  be  infallibly  fulfilled. 

The  "house  of  Israel,"  under  the  scepter  of  Joseph,  was 
whelmed  by  the  power  of  Assyria  twenty-six  hundred  years 
ago,  and  transported  in  a  body  more  than  a  thousand  miles 
from  its  ancient  patrimony  to  the  distant  table-lands  of  central 
Asia,  where  it  became  so  completely  lost  to  the  historian  that 
it  has  been  since  then  dismissed  from  the  historic  stage.  So 
completely  has  it  vanished  from  sight  that  even  our  scholarly 
expositors  seem  to  be  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  the  Scrip- 
tures ever  made  a  promise  to  any  other  Israel  than  the  Jew. 
In  the  author's  Eschatology  of  the  Prophets,  where  this  ques- 
tion is  elaborately  discussed,  proof  is  given  of  the  fact  that 


4IO  The  Last  Message  of. Jesus  Christ 

the  titles  ''House  of  Israel"  and  "House  of  Judah"  stand  for 
two  distinct  conceptions  in  the  Scriptures,  which  are  not  con- 
founded in  any  of  the  prophets,  and  are  used  with  the  same 
careful  discrimination  in  the  New  Testament,  the  writer  of 
Hebrews  recognizing  the  fact  that  the  new  and  everlasting 
covenant  was  made  with  both  of  these  houses,  one  of  whom 
had  vanished  from  sight  centuries  agone.  It  will,  of  course, 
be  considered  unscholarly  to  call  up  this  old  Jewish  "romance," 
but  if  we  admit  the  possibility  that  John  had  any  respect  for 
the  doctrine  of  the  inspiration  of  the  prophets  it  is  hardly 
thinkable  that  he  would  quarry  all  round  this  great  theme  of 
all  prophecy  for  his  apocalyptic  imagery  and  never  think  it 
incumbent  upon  him  to  give  it  a  place  upon  the  scroll  of  the 
passing  panorama.  If  the  reader  will  carefully  go  over  the 
following  Scriptures  he  will  hardly  fail  of  seeing  the  promise 
of  the  "resurrection"  of  both  these  prostrate  houses:  Isa.  49; 
51.  6-1 1 ;  55.  8;  60.  i;  Jer.  2.  18;  12.  14,  15;  23.  5-8;  30.  3-1 1; 
31.  i-ii;  33.  7-9,  17,  24;  50.  4-7,  19,  20;  51.  5,  19-21;  Hos. 
I.  10,  11;  3.  4,  5 ;  Zech.  10.  3-11;  Matt.  24.  31;  Rev.  7.  9. 
These  references,  which  might  be  greatly  extended,  I  judge 
will  be  sufficient. 

Hosea,  whose  prophecy  relates  in  an  especial  manner  to  the 
rejection  and  discipline  of  this  "house  of  Israel"  as  distinct 
from  that  of  the  "house  of  Judah,"  sees  a  time  in  the  distant 
future  when  both  of  these  houses  would  rise  again  from  this 
abject  condition  in  the  earth  and  would  unite  under  one  head, 
being  gathered  together  in  the  great  day  of  Jezreel.  In  his 
second  chapter  he  deals  specifically  with  this  casting  off  of 
Israel  as  an  adulterous  wife.  But  after  the  punitive  dispensa- 
tion ends  she  would  return  to  her  Ishi  and  be  betrothed  unto 
him  forever.  The  parallel  here  between  the  prophet  and  the 
apocalyptist  is  perfect.  Again,  he  says,  with  respect  to  this 
restoration  of  Israel,  "After  two  days  he  will  revive  us;  in 
the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up,  and  we  shall  live  in  his  sight" 
(6.  2).    Again,  "The  iniquity  of  Ephraim  is  bound  up:  his  sin 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  411 

is  hid.  ...  I  will  ransom  them  from  the  power  of  the  grave; 
I  will  redeem  them  from  death :  O  death,  I  will  be  thy  plagues ; 

0  grave,  I  will  be  thy  destruction:  repentance  shall  be  hid 
from  mine  eyes"  (13.  14). 

In  the  attestation  at  the  close  of  the  Apocalypse  we  hear  the 
Alpha  and  Omega  saying,  "1  am  the  root  and  offspring  of 
David,  and  the  bright  and  morning  star."  Isa.  11  gives  us  the 
norm  of  this  symbol.  It  introduces  the  Messiah,  describes  his 
character  and  work,  alludes  to  the  fact  that  he  "will  smite 
the  earth  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth  and  with  the  breath 
of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked" — a  figure  that  certainly 
reappears  in  the  Christophany — and  then  proceeds  to  say  with 
respect  to  this  ''root  of  Jesse"  that  "it  shall  stand  for  an  ensign 
of  the  people ;  to  it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek :  and  his  rest  shall  be 
glorious.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  the  Lord 
shall  set  his  hand  again  the  second  time  to  recover  the  remnant 
of  his  people,  which  shall  be  left  from  Assyria,  and  from 
Egypt,  and  from  Pathros,  and  from  Cush,  and  from  Elam, 
and  from  Shinar,  and  from  Hamath,  and  from  the  islands  of 
the  sea" — seven  specified  points  and  then  the  distant  islands 
of  the  sea.  "And  he  shall  set  up  an  ensign  for  the  Gentiles  [Heb. 
same  as  above],  and  shall  assemble  the  outcasts  of  Israel,  and 
gather  together  the  dispersed  of  Judah  from  the  four  corners 
of  the  earth.  The  envy  also  of  Ephraim  shall  depart,  and  the 
adversaries  of  Judah  shall  be  cut  off ;  Ephraim  shall  not  envy 
Judah,  and  Judah  shall  not  vex  Ephraim.  But  they  shall  fly 
upon  the  shoulders  of  the  Philistines  toward  the  west;  they 
shall  spoil  them  of  the  east  altogether:  they  shall  lay  their 
hand  upon  Edom  and  Moab :  and  the  children  of  Ammon  shall 
obey  them"  (11.  10-13).  Again,  in  chapter  49.  6,  we  have  the 
correlate  statement  that  presents  the  work  of  the  Messiah  with 
respect  to  Israel  in  the  light  of  a  resurrection.  "And  he  said. 
It  is  a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldest  be  my  servant,  to  raise 
up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel : 

1  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayest 


412  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

be  my  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth."  We  may  brush 
aside  such  positive  statements  as  these  with  respect  to  the  great 
work  of  the  Messiah,  but  the  apocalyptist  cannot.  They  are 
the  base  of  the  parable  of  the  leaven,  presenting  the  "three 
measures  of  meal"  that  would  be  leavened  by  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  The  one  great  realistic  picture  of  the  resurrection  is 
given  in  Ezek.  37.  These  whitened  bones  in  the  great  death 
valley  are  a  type  of  Israel's  moribund  condition  in  the  earth. 
The  prophet  is  particular  to  tell  us  that  it  is  the  whole  house 
of  Israel,  the  lost  nations  of  Joseph  as  well  as  the  house  of 
Judah.  We  here  behold  them  raised  up  and  filled  with  the 
Spirit  of  God,  and  established  forever  under  the  throne  of  the 
mystic  David,  who  will  reign  over  them  as  their  Prince  forever. 
Ezekiel  is  clear  with  respect  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  Israel  of 
the  promise,  scattered  throughout  the  earth,  to  which  he  re- 
fers ;  for  he  puts  these  words  in  their  mouths :  "Then  he  said 
unto  me.  Son  of  man,  these  bones  are  the  whole  house  of  Israel : 
behold,  they  say.  Our  bones  are  dried,  and  our  hope  is  lost; 
we  are  cut  off  for  our  parts.  Therefore  prophesy,  and  say 
unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God;  Behold,  O  my  people, 
I  will  open  your  graves,  and  bring  you  into  the  land  of  Israel. 
And  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  I  have  opened 
your  graves,  O  my  people,  and  brought  you  up  out  of  your 
graves,  and  shall  put  my  Spirit  in  you,  and  ye  shall  live ;  and 
I  will  place  you  in  your  own  land :  then  shall  ye  know  that  I 
the  Lord  have  spoken  it,  and  performed  it,  saith  the  Lord." 
As  the  prophet  draws  the  picture  of  the  glorious  era  that  shall 
ensue  under  the  scepter  of  David,  their  everlasting  Prince,  he 
introduces  another  apocalyptic  figure  in  his  allusion  to  the 
fact  that  the  tabernacle  of  God  will  be  with  them,  and  that 
he  will  be  their  God  and  that  they  shall  be  his  people.  Thus 
every  Old  Testament  figure  here  presented  which  passes  for- 
ward to  the  symbolism  of  the  Apocalypse  is  associated  with  this 
divine  pledge  of  the  restoration  of  these  once  cast-off  tribes 
of  the  chosen  Israel.    The  structural  order  in  which  this  "res- 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  413 

urrection"  and  the  great  battle  of  "Gog-Magog"  are  presented 
in  Ezekiel  is  exactly  that  of  the  Apocalypse,  though  in  the  latter 
case  both  the  resurrection  and  the  great  battle  are  reduced  to 
two  brief  paragraphs. 

Daniel  and  Ezekiel  were  fellow  captives  in  Babylon,  and 
doubtless  were  well  acquainted.  It  is  therefore  highly  prob- 
able that  there  would  be  the  closest  harmony  between  them 
with  respect  to  treatment  of  this  theme.  Whatever  construc- 
tion may  be  placed  upon  the  concluding  portion  of  Daniel, 
this  much  stands  out  in  the  clear :  there  is  the  same  perplexing 
question  relative  to  the  scattering  and  regathering  of  Israel  as 
previously  noted  throughout  the  prophets,  and  associate  with 
it  there  is  a  resurrection,  which  in  a  specific  manner  relates 
to  them.  He  says:  ''And  at  that  time  shall  Michael  stand 
up  [Heb.  mnad,  equivalent  to  the  Greek  anastasis,  resurrec- 
tion, here  declarative  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ],  the 
great  prince  which  standeth  for  the  child j-eit  of  thy  people; 
and  there  shall  be  a  time  of  trouble,  such  as  never  was  since 
there  was  a  nation  even  to  that  same  time:  and  at  that  time 
thy  people  shall  he  delivered,  every  one  that  shall  be  found 
written  in  the  book.  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust 
of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life,  and  some  to 
shame  and  everlasting  contempt.  And  they  that  be  wise  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever"  (Dan. 
12.  1-3).  The  only  construction  that  it  is  possible  to  put  upon 
the  phrase  ''children  of  thy  people"  is  that  it  refers  to  Israel, 
and  that  the  deliverance  here  noted  with  respect  to  them  is 
the  same  as  that  enlarged  upon  in  Ezekiel.  The  "time  of 
trouble"  that  is  thus  made  to  stand  alone  in  the  world's  history 
is  that  which  arises  in  connection  with  this  punitive  dispensa- 
tion out  of  which  Israel  emerges  at  this  time.  But  the  veil 
of  mystery  falls  over  the  scene  so  that  even  the  prophet  himself 
is  perplexed  with  reference  to  it,  but  he  is  informed  that  the  seal 
has  been  put  upon  it  until  the  end  of  time.    One  whose  charac- 


414  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

teristic  features  and  acts  strikingly  correlate  with  the  figure  of 
the  Pneumatophany  stands  before  him  on  the  waters  of  the  river, 
and  answers  his  pleadings  for  more  light  with  this  statement: 
"And  I  heard  the  man  clothed  in  linen,  which  was  upon  the 
waters  of  the  river,  when  he  held  up  his  right  hand  and  his 
left  hand  unto  heaven,  and  sware  by  him  that  liveth  forever, 
that  it  shall  be  for  a  time,  times,  and  an  half ;  and  when  he  shall 
have  accomplished  to  scatter  the  pozver  of  the  holy  people,  all 
these  things  shall  he  finished," 

The  time-period  here  introduced  is  that  which  in  the  Apoc- 
alypse marks  the  second  flight  of  the  sun-robed  woman  and 
is  coincident  with  the  period  of  Satan's  loosing  in  the  earth. 

In  the  light  that  is  thrown  upon  this  question  by  these 
scriptures  we  may  profitably  call  up  Isaiah  again.  He  says: 
"Thou  hast  increased  the  nation,  O  Lord,  thou  hast  increased 
the  nation  [note  the  dual  expression]  :  thou  art  glorified:  thou 
hast  removed  it  far  unto  all  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Lord,  in 
trouble  have  they  visited  thee,  they  poured  out  a  prayer  when 
thy  chastening  was  upon  them.  Like  as  a  woman  with  child, 
that  draweth  near  to  the  time  of  her  delivery,  is  in  pain,  and 
crieth  out  in  her  pangs ;  so  have  we  been  in  thy  sight,  O  Lord. 
We  have  been  with  child,  we  have  been  in  pain,  we  have  as 
it  were  brought  forth  wind ;  we  have  not  wrought  any  deliver- 
ance in  the  earth,  neither  have  the  inhabitants  of  the  world 
fallen  [that  is,  before  us].  Thy  dead  men  shall  live,  my  dead 
bodies  shall  arise.  Azvake  and  sing,  ye  that  dzvell  in  the  dust: 
for  thy  dezv  is  as  the  dczv  of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast 
forth  her  dead.  Come,  my  people,  enter  thou  into  thy  cham- 
bers, and  shut  thy  doors  about  thee :  hide  thyself  as  it  were  for 
a  little  moment,  until  the  indignation  be  overpast.  For,  behold, 
the  Lord  cometh  out  of  his  place  to  punish  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth  for  their  iniquity:  the  earth  also  shall  disclose 
her  blood,  and  shall  no  more  cover  her  slain"  (Isa.  26.  15-21 ; 
see  also  29.  4;  52.  2). 

While  the  great  eschatological  deliverance  of  our  Lord  can- 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  415 

not  be  considered  at  this  point,  yet  two  utterances  may  be  noted 
as  suggestive  of  a  possible  correlate  adjustment  with  the 
thought  of  this  prophetic  regathering  of  Israel:  'Tor  there 
shall  be  great  tribulation,  such  as  was  not  since  the  beginning 
of  the  world,  no,  nor  ever  shall  be.  And  except  those  days 
should  be  shortened,  there  should  no  flesh  be  saved:  but  for 
the  elect's  sake  those  days  shall  be  shortened.  And  he  shall 
send  his  angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall 
gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end 
of  heaven  to  the  other"  (Matt.  24.  21,  22,  31). 

The  apocalyptic  character  of  this  address,  the  significance 
of  the  "four  winds"  as  well  as  of  other  terms  employed,  must 
be  reserved  for  future  discussion,  but  the  reference  to  the 
''elect,"  and  their  gathering  together  under  the  hand  of  their 
promised  Deliverer,  gives  too  striking  a  parallel  with  this  great 
theme  of  the  prophets  to  be  passed  without  calling  attention 
to  its  suggestions  of  possible  identity. 

The  statements  made  by  Saint  Paul  in  Rom.  11  with  respect 
to  the  rejection  and  final  restoration  in  the  Christian  age,  adds 
a  most  important  factor  to  this  discussion.  He  too  gathers  the 
elect  Israel  together  under  this  figure  of  a  resurrection.  He 
says:  *T  say  then.  Hath  God  cast  away  his  people?  God  for- 
bid. For  I  also  am  an  Israelite,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  of  the 
tribe  of  Benjamin.  God  hath  not  cast  away  his  people  which 
he  foreknezv" — these  Israelites?  In  the  previous  chapters  of 
this  epistle  he  deals  with  the  Jew ;  from  this  point  onward  he 
discusses  the  Israelite  of  the  prophets  and  the  promises:  "I 
say  then,  Have  they  stumbled  that  they  should  fall?  God  for- 
bid: but  rather  through  their  fall  salvation  is  come  unto  the 
Gentiles,  for  to  provoke  them  to  jealousy.  .  .  .  For  if  the  cast- 
ing away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall 
the  receiving  of  them  be,  hut  life  from  the  dead?  .  .  .  And 
they  also,  if  they  abide  not  still  in  unbelief,  shall  be  graffed 
in :  for  God  is  able  to  graif  them  in  again.  .  .  .  For  I  would  not, 
brethren,  that  ye  should  be  ignorant  of  this  mystery,  lest  ye 


4i6  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

should  be  wise  in  your  own  conceits ;  that  blindness  in  part  is 
happened  to  Israel,  until  the  fullness  of  the  Gentiles  he  come 
in.  And  so  all  Israel  shall  he  saved:  as  it  is  written, There  shall 
come  out  of  Zion  the  Deliverer,  and  shall  turn  away  ungod- 
liness from  Jacob:  for  this  is  my  covenant  unto  them,  when 
I  shall  take  away  their  sins.  As  concerning  the  gospel,  they 
are  enemies  for  your  sakes :  but  as  touching  the  election,  they 
are  beloved  for  the  fathers'  sakes." 

It  is  clear  from  this  utterance  that  the  doctrine  of  election, 
as  held  by  the  apostle  Paul,  had  no  reference  whatever  to  the 
Gentiles.  Had  Calvin  but  seen  this  what  a  world  of  contro- 
versy we  would  have  been  spared! 

Again,  a  critical  study  of  the  content  of  the  quadrate  of  this 
paragraph  of  the  first  resurrection  will  strengthen  the  position 
that  has  been  taken  with  respect  to  its  interpretation.  In  the 
third  Contrastive  Counterpart  two  groupings  are  presented. 
One  is  ranged  with  Christ  upon  Mount  Sion,  with  the  seal  of 
the  Israel  of  God  in  their  foreheads,  who  follow  the  Lamb 
whithersoever  he  goeth.  They  are  "holy."  The  other  is  "the 
dead  which  die  in  the  Lord."  These  are  pronounced  "blessed." 
If  these  words  have  this  reference  they  indicate  the  extended 
scope  of  the  "first  resurrection."  They  are  lifted  beyond  the 
power  of  the  "second  death."  That  is  associated  with  the  gen- 
eral judgment.  "They  shall  be  priests  of  God,  and  of  Christ." 
This  statement  is  supported  by  a  passage  in  Isaiah  which  our 
Lord  himself  certified  belonged  to  the  gospel  age :  "And  they 
shall  build  the  old  wastes,  they  shall  raise  up  the  former  deso- 
lations, and  they  shall  repair  the  waste  cities,  the  desolations 
of  many  generations.  And  strangers  shall  stand  and  feed  your 
flocks,  and  the  sons  of  the  alien  shall  be  your  plowmen  and 
your  vinedressers.  But  ye  shall  be  named  the  priests  of  the 
Lord;  men  shall  call  you  the  ministers  of  our  God:  ye  shall 
eat  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles,  and  in  their  glory  shall  ye  boast 
yourselves"  (Isa.  6i.  4-6).  We  have  seen  how  this  phrase, 
"kings  and  priests,"  occurs  in  the  initial  voicings  of  the  book 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  417 

(chapter  i.  6;  5.  10).  Peter  writes  his  first  epistle  *'to  the 
strangers  scattered  throughout  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia, 
Asia,  and  Bithynia,  elect  according  to  the  foreknowledge  of 
God  the  Father,  .  .  .  begotten  again  unto  a  living  hope,  by  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  to  an  inheritance 
incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved 
in  heaven  for  you,  who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through 
faith  unto  salvation  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time" 
(i  Pet.  I.  1-5).  These  strangers,  scattered  abroad,  are  to 
become  a  "spiritual  house,  an  holy  priesthood,  ...  a  chosen 
generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  an  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  peo- 
ple; ..  .  called  out  of  darkness  into  marvelous  light,  which 
in  time  past  were  not  his  people,  but  are  now  the  people  of 
God :  which  had  not  obtained  mercy,"  "but  now  have  obtained 
mercy"  (i  Pet.  2.  10).  The  statement  shows  in  the  light 
of  the  quotation  that  these  strangers  scattered  abroad  were 
Israelite.  They  are  commanded  to  have  their  "conversation 
honest  among  the  Gentiles.  They  were  as  sheep  going  astray ; 
"but  are  now  returned  unto  the  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  your 
souls." 

The  parable  of  the  prodigal  son  falls  into  beautiful  accord 
with  this  rising  again  of  Israel.  The  two  sons  represent  the 
two  grand  divisions  of  Israel.  The  elder,  the  Jew,  remains 
at  the  old  homestead,  though  strangely  unrequited  for  his 
alleged  service.  The  younger  wanders  into  "the  far  country." 
He  represents  scattered  Israel.  At  last  he  comes  to  himself, 
and  says,  "I  will  arise,  and  go  unto  my  Father."  The  Father 
hastens  to  meet  the  returning  wanderer,  saying,  "This  my  son 
was  dead,  and  is  alive  again,  was  lost,  and  is  found." 

The  theme  is  by  no  means  exhausted ;  but,  as  I  fondly  hope, 
has  been  made  intelligible  to  the  reader.  For  a  fuller  dis- 
cussion of  the  Old  Testament  phase  of  the  question  the  reader 
must  be  referred  to  The  Eschatology  of  the  Prophets. 


4i8  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  Triad  of  the  Draconic  Section 
(5)  The  Loosing  of  Satan  for  a  Little  Season 

A  progressive  phase  of  characterization  is  indicated  in  the 
fact  that  the  great  antagonist  is  bound  as  the  dragon  but  is 
loosed  as  Satan.  It  is  supreme  folly  to  maintain  that  the  figure 
represents  the  Roman  empire  in  the  situation  now  disclosed, 
though,  as  this  period  has  been  previously  shown  to  coincide 
with  the  Christian  age,  the  first,  most  furious  exhibit  of  his 
infernal  power  with  the  thrall  off  is  associated  with  Rome. 

The  task  imposed  with  respect  to  his  ''loosing"  has  been 
greatly  simplified  by  the  anticipations  of  the  previous  pages, 
which  need  not  be  recapitulated  here.  It  has  been,  perhaps, 
sufficiently  shown  how  the  unchaining  of  the  great  archfiend 
adjusts  itself  with  the  great  earthquake,  loosing  of  Euphrates 
angels,  great  rage,  that  follow  his  defeat  in  the  celestial  war,  etc. 
One  point,  however,  should  not  be  lost  sight  of — the  struc- 
tural independence  and  interdependence  of  the  dual  quadrate 
phases  of  this  final  section  of  the  Trilogy.  In  each  case  the 
dragonic  paragraph  leads  with  a  full  seven  and  is  followed 
by  the  mystic  involution  noted  with  respect  to  the  succeeding 
paragraphs. 

The  one  all-important  fact  that  stands  out  in  the  clear  is 
that  in  this  third  section  of  the  Trilogy  we  have  the  same  dual 
phases  of  the  great  drama  previously  characterized,  their  per- 
spective only  being  modified  to  harmonize  with  issues  relative 
to  the  final  fall  of  the  dragon— the  third  part  of  the  "great 
city." 

The  loosened  devil  goes  abroad  in  the  earth  to  deceive  "the 
nations,"  or  "the  Gentiles,"  as  previously  suggested,  though 
he  first  makes  havoc  with  the  Jews  in  most  effectually  blinding 
them  with  respect  to  the  advent  of  the  promised  Messiah.  This 
great  deception  is  simply  that  of  the  second  phase  of  the  third 
woe,  in  which  the  whole  governmental  world  is  deceived  and 
gathered  to  the  battle  of  the  great  day  of  God  Almighty. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  419 

It  is  not  surprising  that  chiliasm  has  so  Httle  to  say  with 
respect  to  the  conditions  which,  by  its  theory,  necessarily  ex- 
ist in  the  earth  after  the  glorified  Christ  and  the  millions  of 
his  resurrected  saints  have  sat  upon  their  thrones  for  a  thou- 
sand years.  The  astonishing  failure  of  the  reign  of  the  per- 
sonally present  Christ,  supported  by  all  the  throned  prophets 
and  apostles,  is  too  humiliating  to  contemplate.  This  foretaste 
of  the  coming  glory  of  the  eternal  world  has  been  so  unsatis- 
factory to  the  citizens  of  this  heavenly  kingdom  that  they 
welcome  the  returning  devil  with  open  arms,  though  it  seems 
impossible  that  they  should  have  been  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  they  were  marching  under  a  flag  that  was  fated  to  go 
down  under  the  fulminations  of  the  eternal  throne.  The  gospel 
has  had  a  thousand  years  of  trial,  under  conditions  that  could 
hardly  be  improved  upon  in  heaven  itself,  and  it  is  voted  a 
failure,  and  all  the  nations  of  earth  march  out  upon  the  field 
of  battle  to  fight  with  an  army,  billions  strong,  of  whom  it 
has  been  said,  "neither  can  they  die  any  more,"  thus  giving 
the  prospect  that  the  casualties  will  be  all  upon  one  side  of 
the  field.  They  go  up  on  the  breadth  of  the  earth,  and  compass 
the  camp  of  the  saints  about,  and  the  beloved  city.  "And  fire 
came  down  out  of  heaven  from  God,  and  devoured  them." 

Upon  this  terrible  picture  of  the  unnumbered  millions  of 
earth  devoured  by  the  fulminations  of  the  throne  of  God,  as 
it  must  be  conceived  by  the  literalist,  I  will  not  dwell.  Let  us 
turn  to  another  phase  of  this  supreme  endeavor  for  the  empire 
of  the  world.  The  apocalyptist  tells  us  that  this  is  the  great 
battle  the  details  of  which  are  given  in  Ezekiel.  It  is  the  crisal 
battle  of  the  ages,  led  by  Gog,  of  the  land  of  Magog,  prince 
of  Rosh,  Meshech,  and  Tubal.  If  it  is  not  the  intention  of 
the  apocalyptist  to  incorporate  this  phase  of  the  prophecy  of 
Ezekiel,  as  he  has  all  the  various  symbolism  drawn  from  his 
book,  then  no  dependence  can  be  placed  upon  any  refer- 
ence made  in  the  course  of  the  unfolding  scroll.  Unless  we 
willfully  close  our  eyes  to  the  basal   facts  established  with 


420  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

respect  to  the  development  of  the  great  drama  we  cannot 
escape  the  conclusion  that  the  Apocalypse  is  intended  to  square 
with  the  prophets.  The  account  of  this  great  battle  runs 
through  two  whole  chapters  of  the  prophecy,  too  lengthy  to 
be  quoted  entire,  but  if  carefully  read  by  the  student  it  will 
hardly  fail  of  clearing  the  atmosphere  of  much  of  this  millen- 
nial haze.  The  following  extracts  will  be  sufficient  to  show 
its  point  of  adjustment: 

"After  many  days  thou  shalt  be  visited:  in  the  latter  years 
thou  shalt  come  into  the  land  that  is  brought  back  from  the 
sword,  and  is  gathered  out  of  many  peoples,  against  the  moun- 
tains of  Israel,  which  have  been  always  waste ;  but  it  is  brought 
out  of  the  nations  [Gentiles],  and  they  shall  dwell  safely,  all 
of  them.  Thou  shalt  ascend,  and  come  like  a  storm,  thou  shalt 
be  like  a  cloud  to  cover  the  land,  thou  and  all  thy  bands,  and 
many  peoples  with  thee.  .  .  .  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  in  that 
day  when  my  people  Israel  dwelleth  safely,  shalt  thou  not  know 
it  ?  And  thou  shalt  come  from  thy  place  out  of  the  north  parts, 
thou,  and  many  peoples  with  thee,  all  of  them  riding  upon 
horses,  a  great  company,  and  a  mighty  army,  and  thou  shalt 
come  against  my  people  Israel,  as  a  cloud  to  cover  the  earth: 
it  shall  be  in  the  latter  days.  And  I  will  bring  thee  against  my 
land,  that  the  heathen  [Gentiles,  Heb.  gowyl  may  know  me, 
when  I  am  sanctified  in  thee,  O  Gog,  before  their  eyes.  .  .  . 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass  at  the  same  time  when  Gog  shall 
come  against  the  land  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord  God,  that  my 
fury  shall  come  up  in  my  face.  For  in  my  jealousy,  and  in 
the  fire  of  my  wrath  have  I  spoken.  Surely  in  that  day  there 
shall  be  a  great  shaking  in  the  land  of  Israel,  so  that  the  fishes 
of  the  sea,  and  the  fowls  of  the  heaven,  and  the  beasts  of  the 
field,  and  all  creeping  things  that  creep  on  the  face  of  the 
earth  shall  shake  at  my  presence ;  and  the  mountains  shall  be 
thrown  down,  and  the  steep  places  shall  fall,  and  every  wall 
shall  fall  to  the  ground,  and  I  will  call  for  a  sword  against 
him  throughout  all  my  mountains,  saith  the  Lord  God :  every 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  421 

man's  sword  shall  be  against  his  brother,  and  I  will  plead 
against  him  with  pestilence,  and  with  blood;  and  I  will  rain 
upon  him,  and  upon  his  bands,  and  upon  many  peoples  that  are 
with  him,  an  overflowing  rain,  and  great  hailstones,  fire  and 
brimstone.  Thus  will  I  magnify  myself,  and  sanctify  myself: 
and  I  will  be  known  in  the  eyes  of  many  nations,  and  they 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord.  .  .  .  And  I  will  smite  the  bow 
out  of  thy  left  hand,  and  cause  thine  arrows  to  fall  out  of  thy 
right  hand.  Thou  shalt  fall  upon  the  mountains  of  Israel, 
thou,  and  all  thy  bands,  and  the  peoples  that  are  with  thee: 
I  will  give  thee  unto  the  ravenous  birds  of  every  sort,  and  to 
the  beasts  of  the  field  to  be  devoured.  Thus  shalt  thou  fall 
upon  the  open  field:  for  I  have  spoken  it,  saith  the  Lord. 
And  I  will  send  a  fire  upon  Magog,  and  among  them  that  dwell 
carelessly  in  the  isles :  and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord. 
So  will  I  make  my  holy  name  known  in  the  midst  of  my  people 
Israel.  And  I  will  not  let  them  pollute  my  holy  name  any 
more:  and  the  Gentiles  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  the 
Holy  One  in  Israel.  Behold  it  is  come,  and  it  is  done,  saith 
the  Lord  God.  This  is  the  day  whereof  I  have  spoken.  And 
thou,  son  of  man,  thus  saith  the  Lord  God :  Speak  unto  every 
feathered  fowl,  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field.  Assemble 
yourselves  and  come:  gather  yourselves  on  every  side  to  my 
sacrifice  that  I  do  sacrifice  for  you,  even  a  great  sacrifice 
upon  the  mountains  of  Israel,  that  ye  may  eat  flesh  and  drink 
blood.  Ye  shall  eat  the  flesh  of  the  mighty,  and  drink  the 
blood  of  the  princes  of  the  earth,  of  rams,  of  lambs,  and  of 
goats,  of  bullocks,  all  of  them  fatlings  of  Bashan.  And  ye 
shall  eat  the  fat  till  ye  be  full,  and  drink  blood  till  ye  be 
drunken,  of  my  sacrifice  which  I  have  sacrificed  for  you. 
Thus  shall  ye  be  filled  at  my  table,  with  horses  and  chariots, 
with  mighty  men,  and  all  men  of  war,  saith  the  Lord  God. 
And  I  will  set  my  glory  among  the  Gentiles,  and  all  the 
Gentiles  shall  see  my  judgment  that  I  have  executed,  and  my 
hand  that  I  have  laid  upon  them.    So  the  house  of  Israel  shall 


422  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

know  from  that  day  and  forzvard,  that  I  am  the  Lord  their 
God.  And  the  Gentiles  shall  knozv  that  the  house  of  Israel 
went  into  captivity  for  their  iniquity,  because  they  trespassed 
against  me;  therefore  hid  I  my  face  from  them,  and  gave  them 
into  the  hand  of  their  enemies,  so  fell  they  all  by  the  sword. 
According  to  their  uncleanness,  and  according  to  their  trans- 
gressions have  I  done  unto  them,  therefore,  thus  saith  the 
Lord  God:  now  will  I  bring  again  the  captivity  of  Jacob,  and 
will  have  mercy  upon  the  whole  house  of  Israel,  and  I  will 
be  jealous  for  my  holy  name.  And  they  shall  bear  their 
shame,  and  all  their  trespasses  whereby  they  trespassed  against 
me.  When  they  shall  dwell  securely  in  their  land,  and  none 
shall  make  them  afraid :  when  I  have  brought  them  again  from 
the  peoples,  and  gathered  them  out  of  their  enemies'  lands, 
and  am  sanctified  in  the  sight  of  many  nations.  And  they 
shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  their  God,  in  that  I  caused  them 
to  go  into  captivity  among  the  Gentiles,  and  have  gathered 
them  into  their  own  land;  for  I  have  poured  out  my  Spirit 
upon  the  house  of  Israel,  saith  the  Lord  God"  (Ezek.  38 
and  39). 

The  end  of  this  great  battle,  as  detailed  here,  relates  pri- 
marily to  the  fate  of  the  dragonic  leader  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  preceding  sections  of  the  Trilogy  have  done  to  that  of 
the  associate  figures  of  this  dread  triumvirate  of  the  pit.  The 
battle  itself  is  the  same  as  that  already  brought  before  us  in 
the  associate  sections.  The  development  of  the  plan  is  climac- 
teric. The  course  of  defeat  takes  its  way,  through  the  ranks 
in  the  field,  back  to  the  commander  in  chief  on  the  hilltop. 
His  defeat  and  terrible  doom  to  the  lake  of  fire  are  not  dwelt 
upon,  but  are  tersely  told,  and  the  veil  drops  upon  this  fated 
field  of  the  great  world-struggle. 

Once  admit  the  claim  here  made — that  this  paragraph  of 
the  first  resurrection  reflects  that  of  the  great  death  valley 
of  Ezekiel,  and  this  great  world-battle  which  follows,  to  which 
John  and  Ezekiel  give  the  same  name,  is  in  reality  the  same. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  423 

and  that  the  Glorious  City,  with  its  gates  bearing  the  names  of 
the  tribes  of  Israel,  is  the  same  in  John  as  in  Ezekiel,  with 
the  same  mystic  river,  and  trees — and  you  have  a  succession 
of  striking  coincidences  that  are  sufficient  to  confound  and 
vitiate  every  prophetic  symbol  or  reference  drawn  from  the 
Old  Testament,  if  the  fact  of  an  intended  correlate  adjust- 
ment be  denied.  There  is  no  book  of  the  Old  Testament  whose 
authenticity  has  been  more  positively  established  than  this  of 
the  prophet  Ezekiel.  In  fact,  the  question  of  authorship  is 
no  longer  disputed  even  by  the  most  destructive  of  the  critics. 
It  is  conceded  that  the  book  was  written  on  the  Chebar  by  the 
prophet  whose  name  it  bears.  But  zvas  he  a  prophet,  and  were 
his  writings  inspired  of  God?  If  so,  his  eschatology  must  be 
conceded  as  underlying  this  of  the  Apocalypse  of  Saint  John. 
He  just  as  clearly  projects  the  lines  of  the  great  world-struggle 
to  the  end  of  the  age  as  do  the  anterior  prophets  of  Israel  and 
his  own  contemporaries,  and  as  do  Christ  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment writers.  Our  Lord  certifies  the  prophets.  Paul  stands 
by  them  without  a  shadow  of  dissent.  John  recognizes  them, 
and  makes  their  prophecies  both  the  warp  and  the  woof  of  his 
mighty  Apocalypse.  Ezekiel's  ''living  creatures"  meet  us  in 
the  foreground ;  his  militant  Israel  receive  the  stamp  of  the 
living  God  in  their  foreheads  and  thence  range  themselves 
upon  the  obverse  side  of  the  great  drama.  The  foul  harlotry 
excoriated  in  the  prophet  gets  upon  the  throne  in  the  Apoc- 
alypse. The  finalities  of  the  prophet  square  perfectly  with  those 
of  the  apocalyptist — the  great  resurrection  from  the  death 
valley  of  Israel,  the  sequent  battle  of  Gog,  the  New  Jerusalem, 
which  is  disclosed  from  the  same  high  mountain,  its  river  of 
life,  proceeding  from  the  throne,  its  trees  of  life,  blooming  upon 
its  banks,  its  Prince  of  the  House  of  David  upon  the  throne 
of  Israel  forever,  are  factors  which  present  a  solid  buttress 
of  correlation  that  will  simply  whelm  any  expositor  who  at- 
tempts the  task  of  expounding  the  Apocalypse  with  the  great 
central  theme  of  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel  left  out. 


424  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

Attention  is  again  directed  to  the  manner  in  which  the  sym- 
boHsm  of  Ezekiel  is  made  to  certify  the  triunity  of  this  great 
world-battle  of  the  Apocalypse.  In  the  second  section  of  the 
Trilogy,  when  the  theria  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  face  the 
mighty  Leader  upon  the  field  of  Armageddon,  at  the  head  of 
all  the  white-robed  armies  of  heaven,  ere  the  battle  is  joined, 
an  angel  takes  his  stand  in  the  sun  and  makes  the  following 
proclamation  "with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  to  all  the  fowls  that 
fly  in  the  midst  of  heaven.  Come,  and  gather  yourselves  together 
unto  the  supper  of  the  great  God." 

The  battle  ends  as  the  field  is  swept  by  the  legions  of  light, 
and  the  birds  are  satiated  with  the  flesh  of  kings,  captains, 
mighty  men,  horses,  their  riders,  the  free  and  the  bond,  the 
small  and  the  great — an  apocalyptic  seven.  But  in  Ezekiel 
this  great  supper  table  is  spread  for  the  birds  on  the  field 
where  Gog  meets  his  Waterloo.  John  makes  no  reference 
to  it  in  this  connection.  The  fact  simply  evidences  the  deft 
pencilings  of  mysticism,  telling  us  that  these  three  great  crises 
of  the  Apocalypse  are  in  reality  one  and  the  same. 

Again,  the  Theophanic  phase  of  the  battle,  as  well  as  its 
dragonic,  finds  imagery  in  the  prophet  that  it  draws  upon  for 
its  purpose  here.  In  Ezekiel  the  destructive  agencies  employed 
against  Gog  are  celestial — "great  hailstones,  fire,  and  brim- 
stone." In  the  Apocalypse  (i)  hail  becomes  the  judgment  sym- 
bol, (2)  fire  from  God  out  of  heaven  devours  the  hordes  of 
the  great  world-coalition,  (3)  brimstone  intensifies  the  fires 
of  destruction  that  dash  and  surge  in  the  billows  of  Gehenna. 
What  this  lake  of  fire  may  signify  does  not  fall  within  the 
province  of  this  study  to  discuss  at  this  point.  That  it  sustains 
the  awful  pronouncement  which  Christ  said  would  fall  from 
the  lips  of  the  King,  when  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  would  be 
assembled  in  the  judgment,  need  not  be  discussed.  The  Apoc- 
alypse does  not  falter  in  the  presence  of  the  fact  of  an  eternal 
hell,  but  presents  it  as  a  stern  reality  which  waits  upon  the 
adjudications  of  the  "great  day."    "And  the  devil  that  deceived 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  425 

them  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  where  the 
beast  and  the  false  prophet  are,  and  shall  be  tormented  day 
and  night  forever  and  ever."  Not  only  are  the  beast  and  false 
prophet  there,  but,  as  we  learn  in  the  terminal  paragraph  of 
the  quadrate  of  the  Third  Contrastive  Counterpart  (chapter 
14),  the  worshipers  of  the  beast  are  also  there,  and  shall  have 
the  same  torment,  and  the  smoke  of  their  torment  will  ascend 
up  forever  and  ever. 

Reference  has  been  previously  made  to  the  fact  of  the  ac- 
centuation of  the  office  of  each  Person  of  the  Holy  Trinity  in 
the  successive  sections  of  the  Trilogy  as  supported  by  the  asso- 
ciate Divine  Personalities.  In  the  first  section  we  have  as  the 
leading  figure  the  Angel  of  the  Pneumatophany.  He  illumines 
the  whole  world  with  his  glory.  He  is  supported  by  the  Throne, 
while  the  Divine  Executive  whelms  the  harlot  in  the  sea.  In 
the  second  section  we  have  the  slightly  metamorphosed  figure 
of  the  Christophany  with  the  signum  of  omnipotent  power  upon 
its  head  and  of  the  Eternal  Spirit  animate  within,  as  the  sharp 
sword  of  its  mouth,  whose  action  completes  the  victory  on  this 
mighty  field.  In  this  final  section  action  proceeds  from  the 
Theophany,  but  as  this  is  put  forth  through  the  Son  and  Spirit, 
as  He  never  descends  from  the  throne,  the  fire  symbol  simply 
flashes  from  it.  At  the  head  of  the  section  we  meet  the  second 
Adam,  with  the  key  and  great  chain ;  at  its  close,  this  descend- 
ing fire,  which  is  one  of  the  emblems  of  the  presence  of  the 
Eternal  Spirit,  suggesting  here  rather  his  occult  action  than 
that  of  a  whole  world  wiped  out  by  the  liquid  fires  of  wrath. 

(6)  The  Second  Coming  of  Christ 
"(i)  And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  (2)  and  Him  that  sat 
on  it,  (3)  from  whose  face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away; 
(4)  and  there  was  found  no  place  for  them." 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  the  involved  structural  char- 
acter of  these  two  terminal  paragraphs  previously  alluded  to. 
The  second  coming  is  expressed  by  a  quadrate,  then  a  full 


426  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

paragraphic  seven  breaks  in,  which  is  followed  by  the  terminal 
triad  which  declares  the  results  of  the  adjudications  of  the 
awful  day.  It  will  be  observed  that  this  method  of  involved 
paragraphic  subdivision  does  not  disturb  the  lines  of  the  group- 
ings of  the  section,  which  are  fixed  by  the  diversity  of  subject 
and  factors  introduced.  The  second  coming  of  Christ  is  here 
associated  with  the  vanishing  of  the  material  frame,  or  the 
earth,  and  the  aerial  scroll  around  it.  The  following  scene 
also  combines  in  the  same  manner  the  general  resurrection  and 
j  udgment. 

The  unapproachable  sublimity  of  this  transcendent  scene 
halts  the  finite  imagination.  Christ  has  come,  as  he  promised. 
Enthroned  in  the  white  light  of  eternity,  he  sits  as  the  Judge 
of  an  assembled  universe,  for  all  judgment  has  been  committed 
into  his  hands. 

Clearer  light  is  thrown  upon  the  significance  of  the  seven 
paragraphs  of  the  sixth  seal  by  these  terminal  characterizations 
of  the  Trilogy.  Its  quadrate  groups  the  results  of  Satan's 
loosing  in  (i)  the  great  earthquake,  (2)  the  darkened  sun 
and  (3)  crimsoned  moon,  and  (4)  the  falling  stars.  If  we 
consider  the  vanishing  heavens  and  the  fleeing  mountains  and 
islands  as  one  scene,  then  we  have  but  six  paragraphs;  this 
may  be  intended  as  harmonious  with  the  incomplete  character 
of  the  seal-trumpet  method  of  characterization.  While  this 
point  is  interesting,  it  need  not  detain  us.  After  this  quadrate 
of  the  loosing  of  Satan,  next  in  order  is  the  second  coming  of 
Christ,  which  will  be  signalized  by  the  vanishing  of  the  material 
frame.  Up  to  this  time  all  things  have  continued  as  they  were 
from  the  beginning  of  the  creation,  the  long  delay  with  respect 
to  the  fulfillment  of  his  promise  to  come  again  most  severely 
trying  the  faith  of  the  church  and  leading  the  scoffer  to  scout 
the  idea  that  the  stability  of  nature  will  ever  be  disturbed  by 
this  promised  return  of  the  crucified  Christ.  But  in  such  an 
hour  as  they  think  not  he  comes,  and  heaven  and  earth  flee 
away  before  the  glory  of  his  unveiled  face. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  427 

Christ  said  that  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  pass  away. 
Peter  says,  "But  the  day  of  the  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief 
in  the  night;  in  the  which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a 
great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  and 
the  earth  also  and  the  works  that  art  therein  shall  be  burned 
up"  (2  Pet.  3.  10).  In  harmony  with  this  scene  now  before  us 
the  opening  of  the  books  of  judgment  in  the  vision  of  Daniel 
discloses  but  one  universal  gathering  of  humanity  before  the 
throne  of  God.  The  present  order  now  passes,  and  the  veil  lifts 
upon  the  opening  vision  of  eternity. 

(7)  The  General  Resurrection  and  the  Judgment 
"(i)  And  I  saw  the  dead,  the  great  and  the  small,  stand 
before  the  throne;  (2)  and  the  books  were  opened:  (3)  and 
another  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of  life:  (4)  and 
the  dead  were  judged  out  of  the  things  that  were  written  in 
the  books,  according  to  their  works.  (5)  And  the  sea  gave 
up  the  dead  which  were  in  it;  (6)  and  death  and  Hades  gave 
up  the  dead  which  were  in  them:  (7)  and  they  were  judged 
every  man  according  to  their  works." 

With  respect  to  the  meaning  of  this  most  impressive  scene 
there  is  hardly  the  possibility  of  mistake.  It  is  the  apocalyptic 
characterization  of  the  general  resurrection  of  the  dead.  The 
employment  of  the  full  paragraphic  seven  determines  the  fact 
that  it  takes  the  full  range  of  its  subject.  If  the  reference  to 
"the  rest  of  the  dead"  in  the  martyr  grouping  be  rejected  as 
an  interpolation,  this  is  the  only  place  within  the  lines  of  this 
entire  retributive  division  of  the  book  where  we  have  a  specific 
allusion  to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  The  structural  law 
of  the  Apocalypse  here  speaks  with  an  authority  that  should 
silence  all  dissent,  and  will  when  its  significance  is  fully 
grasped.  On  the  surface  we  have  what  appears  to  comprise 
a  double  resurrection  and  a  double  judgment — the  first  out 
of  the  written  record,  the  other  according  to  their  works. 
This  duality  of  expression  here  throws  additional  light  upon 


428  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  relation  of  the  quadrate  and  triad  principle  of  these  group- 
ings. Here  it  shows  the  universal  sweep  of  its  theme.  The 
quadrate  here  may  allude  to  the  vast  host  of  the  living,  changed 
in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  as  the  last  trump 
sounds,  and  who  are  not  thus  conceived  as  passing  under  the 
thrall  of  death  and  Hades,  as  vanished  generations  have  done. 
In  the  triad  we  behold  the  sea  giving  up  the  dead  in  it,  and 
death  and  Hades  delivering  up  the  dead  which  were  in  them. 
The  question  here  raised  with  respect  to  this  figure  of  the 
sea  is  important.  Is  it  the  literal  sea,  or  this  mystic  sea  whose 
waters  were  turned  to  blood?  If  the  latter,  then  we  may 
understand  that  the  reference  is  to  the  rising  again  of  the 
material  form,  while  the  complement  from  the  realms  of  death 
and  Hades  refers  to  the  giving  back  of  the  two  classes  of 
spirits  that  have  been  held  as  it  were  in  their  thrall. 

The  great  fact  here  declared  by  the  structural  law  of  the 
book  is  that  of  the  general  resurrection  of  the  dead,  both  of 
the  just  and  the  unjust.  It  is  associated  with  the  glorious 
appearing  of  our  Lord,  in  the  ''last  day."  The  whole  living 
world  is  suddenly  arrested  in  the  walks  and  ways  of  life. 
White-robed  spirits  from  the  realms  of  the  unseen  convoy  their 
returning  Lord.  Spirits  from  the  realm  of  death  are  also 
summoned  before  the  throne,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  opened 
books  which  will  determine  the  eternal  destiny  of  men. 

In  taking  leaA^e  of  this  Retributive  Section  attention  is 
directed  to  the  fact  that  in  no  less  than  four  passages  in  John 
6 — verses  39,  40,  44,  54 — our  Lord  places  the  resurrection  of 
the  righteous  dead  in  this  "last  day,"  and  not  at  a  point  a 
thousand  years  anterior.  He  says:  "And  this  is  the  Father's 
will  which  hath  sent  me,  that  of  all  which  he  hath  given  me 
I  should  lose  nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  at  the  last  day." 
"And  this  is  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  that  every  one  that 
seeth  the  Son,  and  believeth  on  him,  may  have  eternal  life: 
and  I  zvill  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day."  "No  man  can  come 
to  me  except  the  Father  which  hath  sent  me  draw  him:  and 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  429 

/  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day."  **Whoso  eateth  my  flesh, 
and  drinketh  my  blood,  hath  eternal  life:  and  /  will  raise  him 
up  at  the  last  day."  In  the  presence  of  the  sepulcher  of  her 
dead  brother  Martha  shows  how  she  has  understood  the  teach- 
ings of  Christ  upon  this  question  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.  "J^^us  said  unto  her,  Thy  brother  shall  rise  again. 
Martha  said  unto  him,  I  know  that  he  shall  rise  again  in  the 
resurrection  at  the  last  day."  More  conclusive  proof  could 
not  be  desired  with  respect  to  the  fact  that  the  righteous  dead 
are  not  to  be  raised  until  the  'last  day."  Other  passages 
preclude  hedging  upon  the  point  that  it  is  the  "last  day"  of 
the  present  age  that  is  meant,  and  not  the  "last  day"  of  the 
riot  of  the  loosened  devil  in  the  earth,  as  beyond  the  lines  of 
the  millennial  collapse  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  The  wicked 
are  to  be  judged  in  this  same  "last  day."  "He  that  rejecteth 
me,  and  receiveth  not  my  words,  hath  one  that  judge th  him: 
the  word  that  I  have  spoken,  the  same  shall  judge  him  in  the 
last  day"  (John  12.  48).  And  finally  this  utterance  of  Christ, 
which  it  would  seem  impossible  even  by  the  most  violent 
wrenching  to  pervert  its  plain  meaning:  "Marvel  not  at  this: 
for  the  hour  is  coming  in  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall 
hear  his  voice,  and  come  forth:  they  that  have  done  good,  unto 
the  resurrection  of  life:  and  they  that  have  done  evil,  unto  the 
resurrection  of  damnation"  (John  5.  28,  29).  The  chiliast 
will  not  dispute  the  fact  that  both  the  righteous  and  the  wicked 
would  be  simultaneously  raised  up  in  this  supplemental  resur- 
rection including,  of  course,  all  the  wicked,  but  only  those  of 
the  righteous  who  die  subsequent  to  the  assumed  "first  resur- 
rection." They  would  not  be  in  their  graves,  and  therefore 
are  eliminated  from  consideration.  But  if  this  coming  of 
Christ  to  judge  the  world  is  in  reality  in  the  "last  day,"  he  has 
settled  the  point  himself  that  both  classes  will  be  raised  simul- 
taneously and  judged  by  their  works  and  by  the  record  of  the 
opened  books. 

The    sundered    triad    now     declares    the    dread    finality: 


430  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

"(i)  And  death  and  Hades  were  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire. 
(2)  This  is  the  second  death.  (3)  And  whosoever  was  not 
found  written  in  the  book  of  hfe  was  cast  into  the  lake  of  fire." 
Thus  the  promise  is  fulfilled  that  the  last  enemy  that  shall  be 
destroyed  is  death. 

Alford  observes  with  respect  to  this  destruction  of  the  "king 
of  terrors,"  that,  as  there  is  a  second,  or  higher,  life,  so  there 
is  a  second,  or  deeper,  death.  And  as  after  that  life  there  is 
no  more  death,  so  after  that  death  there  is  no  more  life.  That 
this  second  death  is  not  annihilation  is  proved  by  the  words 
of  Christ  which  affirm  that  the  wicked  shall  go  away  into 
everlasting  punishment  but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal,  the 
same  word,  as  is  well  known,  being  employed  in  both  cases. 

The  finality  here  held  before  the  vision  is  terrible  in  its 
suggestions.  The  fact  that  we  are  dealing  with  mysticism 
does  not  take  the  barbs  out  of  it.  It  means,  in  the  light  of 
the  words  of  Christ  and  in  the  light  of  this  transcendent  sec- 
tion to  follow,  eternal  banishment  from  the  presence  of  a  holy 
God  and  all  that  is  pure.  It  means  eternal  association  with  all 
that  is  deformed  and  horrid.  No  hint  here  of  "eternal  hope" 
or  of  a  possible  future  restoration.  No  provision  of  purga- 
torial fires  supplements  the  expiation  made  for  sin  upon  the 
cross.  While  the  river  of  life  shall  flow  from  the  throne  and 
lave  the  golden  streets  of  one  city,  the  smoke  of  their  torment 
will  ascend  from  the  eternal  burnings  of  the  other.  White 
robes  in  the  New  Jerusalem  demand  the  restraint  of  prison 
stripes  behind  the  barred  gates  of  Gehenna.  God  would  not 
have  it  so.  But  Omnipotence  has  no  power  to  change  the 
results  of  a  free  agent's  choice.  When  we  contemplate  the 
festering  hideousness  held  before  our  eyes  in  the  pages  of 
this  book — which  flaunts  itself  in  the  face  of  dying  love  and 
divine  tears,  tramples  upon  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  cove- 
nant, and  contemns  offered  mercy — this  lake  of  fire,  even  were 
it  a  literal  reality,  would  not  seem  so  very  disproportionate, 
after  all. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  431 

Thus  ends  this  series  of  divine  retribution.  It  has  uttered 
its  terrible  warning,  and  now  drops  the  veil.  It  will  lift  it  again 
upon  the  glory  of  the  contrastive  scene. 

The  Contrastive  Counterpart  of  the  Trilogy 

In  this  final  shift  of  scene  there  rises  before  us  the  trans- 
cendent masterpiece  of  the  mighty  drama.  Apocalyptic  meta- 
phor here  essays  the  superhuman  task  of  throwing  into  con- 
crete, though  mystic,  expression  what  infinite  love,  backed 
by  omnipotent  power,  will  do  in  behalf  of  the  Bride  of  the 
Lamb  when  the  bells  of  heaven  shall  ring  in  her  nuptial 
morning. 

Attention  should  first  be  directed  to  the  fact  that  the  con- 
trastive feature  of  this  obverse  section  fully  sustains  the  con- 
tention for  the  fact  of  triunity  of  the  Trilogy.  There  is  hut 
a  single  phase  of,  contrast,  and  that  is  zvith  its  leading  figure, 
the  great  Babylonian  harlot.  We  have  seen  fallen  Babylon 
sink  into  the  sea  of  oblivion.  As  the  great  world-corruptress 
she  becomes  the  ''habitation  of  devils,  the  hold  of  every  foul 
spirit,  and  cage  of  every  unclean  and  hateful  bird."  The  harlot 
symbol  transforms  into  that  of  the  city,  upon  which  the  veil 
of  the  unseen  lifts  and  we  are  given  to  see  her  fearful  doom 
in  the  ''smoke  of  her  torment  that  ascendeth  up  forever  and 
ever."  The  contrastive  character  of  this  section  could  hardly 
be  exhibited  in  more  striking  expression.  We  have  here  the 
same  Master  of  Ceremonies,  in  this  golden-girdled  angel,  who, 
with  the  apocalyptist,  ascends  the  "high  mountain"  to  lift  the 
veil  from  the  antithetic  nuptial  scene.  The  figure  of  this  divine 
woman  appears  in  the  foreground,  but,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  harlot,  immediately  transforms  into  a  city.  As  the  Bride 
of  the  Lamb  made  ready  for  her  marriage,  and  then  as  the 
New  Jerusalem  descending  from  God  out  of  heaven,  she  is 
the  one  central  point  of  interest  in  this  concluding  series. 

Let  the  reader  go  over  again  the  whole  of  the  Babylonian 
section  of  the  Trilogy  and  note  the  completeness  of  its  detail, 


432  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

and  how  it  is  immediately  followed  by  that  terse,  tumultuous 
scene  in  which  the  Bride  of  the  Lamb  is  disclosed  as  ready 
for  the  marriage,  and  that  this  is  followed  by  the  strange 
punctuation  point  of  the  misdirected  worship  of  the  angel, 
and  he  may  there  write  the  finis  of  the  book.  What  follows  is 
simply  the  amplification  (i)  of  the  manner  of  the  fall  of  the 
two  remaining  parts  of  the  great  city,  and  (2)  that  of  the 
glory  of  the  Bride.  There  is  mystery  declared  with  respect 
to  the  seven  golden  candlesticks,  and  disclosed  in  the  person 
of  the  great  scarlet  monster;  and  yet  it  is  only  that  of  the 
false  and  the  true  as  arrayed  against  each  other  in  the  prog- 
ress of  the  great  redemptive  work  of  Christ.  The  figures 
present  the  pure  church  as  corrupted  and  debauched  by  Satan, 
but  which  is  finally  saved  and  transformed  by  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  and  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  We  have  beheld  this 
woman  in  her  celestial  exaltation,  and  in  her  anguish  maternal, 
and  as  descending  from  her  abode  in  the  sunlight  to  cower  in 
the  shadow  of  the  wilderness.  We  have  seen  her  spread  her 
great  eagle  wings  to  fly  again,  the  second  time,  from  the  hot 
breath  of  the  dragon  to  the  solitudes  of  her  place  in  this  drear 
wilderness.  We  have  seen  how  she  rode  forth  from  this  point 
of  her  humiliation  as  the  drunken  bawd.  Now  comes  the 
final  contrastive  picture  of  her  exaltation  as  she  stands,  in  her 
wedding  robes,  ready  for  her  eternal  union  with  Him  who  has 
redeemed  her,  upon  whose  arm  she  comes  up  from  the  wilder- 
ness, clear  as  the  sun,  fair  as  the  moon,  and  terrible  as  an  army 
with  banners. 

Within  the  lines  of  the  Babylonian  section  we  (Tatch  a 
glimpse  of  the  militant  Christ  at  the  head  of  his  white-robed 
army  (chapter  17.  14).  Later  we  have  the  detail  of  their  great 
battle,  in  the  second  section  of  the  Trilogy.  We  see  the  fire 
also,  which  descends  from  heaven,  in  the  third  section.  Here 
we  have  reached  a  point  where  the  great  conflict  has  forever 
ended.  The  initial  scene  of  this  Counterpart  ushers  in  the  new 
heavens  and  new  earth  and  the  glory  of  the  eternal  state. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  433 

The  white  horseman  who  went  forth  of  the  first  broken  seal, 
conquering  and  to  conquer,  has  triumphed  upon  every  field 
as  indissolubly  joined  to  the  multidiademed  Leader  who  rides 
at  the  head  of  the  host.  He  has  met  the  red-horseman  upon 
a  million  battlefields,  and  has  wrested  his  great  sword  from 
him  and  transformed  it  into  a  plowshare.  He  has  spiked  the 
last  cannon,  and  forever  hushed  the  tumult  of  war  and  set  the 
angels  chanting  "Peace  on  earth,  and  good  will  to  men."  He 
has  confronted  the  gaunt  black-horseman,  who  has  ever  fol- 
lowed close  in  the  wake  of  the  red,  doling  out  his  wheat  and 
his  barley  by  the  penny's  worth  to  a  world  that  was  starving 
for  bread.  He  has  halted  him  in  his  miserly  career,  taken  his 
balances  from  him,  and  proclaimed  to  the  new  earth's  remotest 
bounds,  'They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more : 
neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall 
lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  water:  and  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes."  He  has  met  the  pale-horseman 
upon  a  field  where  the  struggle  was  so  fierce  that  the  sun 
turned  dark  in  the  heavens  while  the  earth  rocked  in  its  orbit. 
Riding  in  triumph  ofif  this  fearful  field,  he  cries,  "Fear  not; 
I  have  the  keys  of  Hades  and  death,  and  behold,  I  am  alive 
for  evermore."  "There  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow 
nor  crying;  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain,  for  the  for- 
mer things  have  passed  away."  The  great  red  altar  has  gone 
with  the  wreck  of  burning  worlds.  The  last  sob  of  sorrow 
has  been  hushed,  the  last  falling  tear  forever  wiped  away  by 
a  hand  as  loving  and  tender  as  ever  rocked  a  babe  to  sleep  or 
kissed  its  shadows  into  sunshine.  The  curtain  rises  now  upon 
a  scene  that  throws  wide  the  gates  of  the  eternities.  It  is  no 
wonder  that  as  John  gazed  upon  it  he  should  fall  in  the  dust 
at  the  feet  of  his  celestial  companion  in  worship. 

How,  or  through  what  agency,  the  material  realm  passes 
away  it  were,  perhaps,  idle  to  discuss.  God  has  not  seen  fit 
to  disclose  to  us  the  mystery  involved  in  the  material  creation. 


434  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

The  whence  and  the  whither  of  matter  presents  a  problem 
as  insoluble  to  us  as  that  of  the  nature  of  God  himself.  Its 
real  essence  may  be  as  far  beyond  the  comprehension  of  the 
finite  mind  as  that  of  its  Creator.  Whether  real  or  ideal  we 
may  not  be  quite  sure,  for  as  yet  we  have  advanced  but  little 
beyond  noting  the  physical  changes  which  pass  upon  its  face. 
We  only  know  that  in  this  great  final  hour  the  temporal  gives 
way  to  the  eternal.  Nature  dissolves.  The  elements  melt  with 
fervent  heat.  The  world  and  all  things  therein  are  burned 
up.  The  heavens  as  a  thin  parchment  scroll  are  rolled  up, 
take  fire,  and  pass  away.  The  sea,  too,  gives  up  its  dead  and 
its  awful  mysteries,  and  vanishes  forever.  This  picture  of  the 
passing  of  the  sea  must  have  been  inexpressibly  sweet  to  this 
lonely  exile  upon  Patmos,  as  from  his  rocky  grotto  he  looked 
out  upon  its  dark  and  heaving  flood.  The  sea  was  his  jailer. 
It  was  the  one  impassable  barrier  between  him  and  his  loved 
ones  on  its  distant  shores.  Nevermore,  while  he  remained 
upon  this  lonely  isle,  would  his  eyes  rest  upon  its  white-capped 
waves,  nor  listen  to  their  ceaseless  moaning  as  they  dashed  on 
the  rocks  below,  without  a  thrill  of  joy:  "There  shall  be  no 
more  sea." 

It  has  been  previously  noted  that  the  exponents  on  the  con- 
trastive  side  of  the  panorama  take  on  a  diverse  form  of  expres- 
sion from  that  of  the  main  series,  the  throne  voicings,  for 
instance,  expanding  from  the  triad  of  the  Theophany  to  the 
full  seven  of  the  Trilogy,  at  whose  head  they  complete  their 
exponential  office  and  pass  from  the  field  of  action.  On  the 
contrastive  side  there  are  also  voices,  but  not  as  associated 
with  the  lightnings  and  thunders  but  with  celestial  music. 
As  introductory  to  the  scene  now  developing  upon  the  scroll 
they  are  again  trinitarian.  There  is  an  initial  voice  from  the 
throne  that  calls  for  praise,  and  then  there  bursts  forth  "as 
it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many 
waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying,  Alle- 
luia :  for  the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth."    Here  again  wq 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  435 

may  observe  the  same  involved  method  of  enunciation  noted 
in  the  previous  section.  This  final  Counterpart  conforms  to 
the  structural  law  that  calls  for  the  triad  on  the  obverse  side 
of  characterization,  but  gives  it  in  the  form  of  the  broken 
seven.  We  have  (i)  the  oral  quadrate  of  introduction;  (2)  the 
sublime  vision  of  the  bride;  (3)  the  oral  triad  of  divine  attes- 
tation of  the  book.  This  general  outline  will  be  sufficient  to 
establish  the  structural  harmony  of  this  Counterpart  with  those 
that  have  preceded,  though  within  the  lines  of  each  paragraph 
there  may  be  found  intimation  of  profundities  of  enunciation 
that  will  yield  rich  treasure  to  those  who  may  have  the  patience 
and  skill  to  quarry  within  these  mystic  depths. 

Exponential  Groupings 

The  Quadrate  of  the  Final  Broken  Sevens 

(i)  The  New  Heaven,  New  Earth,  and  New  Jerusalem 

**(i)  And  I  saw  a  new  heaven,  (2)  and  a  new  earth:  (3)  for 
the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away;  (4)  and 
there  was  no  more  sea.  (5)  And  I  saw  the  holy  city,  new 
Jerusalem,  (6)  coming  down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  (7)  pre- 
pared as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband." 

Trinitarian  Voicings 

(2)  The  Eternal  Spirit  Identified  by  Association 

"And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of  heaven  saying,  (i)  Be- 
hold, the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men.  (2)  And  he  will  dwell 
with  them.  (3)  And  they  shall  be  his  people.  (4)  And  God 
himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their  God.  (5)  And  God 
shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes.  (6)  And  there  shall 
be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying.  (7)  Neither 
shall  there  be  any  more  pain :  for  the  former  things  are  passed 
away." 


436  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

(3)  The  Silence  of  the  Throned  Eternal  Broken 
*'And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne  said,  (i)  Behold,  I  make 
all  things  new.     And  he  said  unto  me,   (2)  Write:  for  these 
words  are  true  and  faithful.     And  he  said  unto  me,  (3)  It  is 
done." 

(4)  The  Eternal  Son — His  Unity  with  the  Father 
''(4)  I  am  the  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the 
end.  (5)  I  will  give  unto  him  that  is  athirst  of  the  fountain 
of  the  water  of  life  freely.  (6)  He  that  overcometh  shall  in- 
herit all  things :  and  I  will  be  his  God,  and  he  shall  be  my  son. 
(7)  (i)  But  the  fearful,  and  unbelieving,  (2)  and  the  abom- 
inable, (3)  and  murderers,  (4)  and  whoremongers,  (5)  and 
sorcerers,  (6)  and  idolaters,  (7)  and  all  liars,  shall  have  their 
part  in  the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone :  which 
is  the  second  death." 

This  most  impressive  quadrate  is  introductory  to  the  glori- 
ous vision  to  follow.  The  triad  of  attestation  will  complete 
this  exponential  utterance  when  the  vision  shall  have  passed. 

The  Bride  of  the  Lamb 
In  the  ravishing  vision  now  looming  before  us  the  numeric 
lines  seem  to  be  lost  in  the  effulgence  of  its  glory.  This  is  but 
seeming.  They  are  still  in  place.  The  vision  presents  three 
phases:  (i)  the  description  of  the  city;  (2)  its  inhabitants; 
(3)  the  throne  of  God  as  its  source  of  life  and  central  glory. 

(i)  Description  of  the  City 
"And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the  seven  angels,  which 
had  the  seven  vials  full  of  the  seven  last  plagues,  and  talked 
with  me,  saying,  Come  hither.  I  will  show  thee  the  bride,  the 
Lamb's  wife.  And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  spirit  to  a  great 
and  high  mountain,  and  showed  me  that  great  city,  the  holy 
Jerusalem,  descending  out  of  heaven  from  God, having  the  glory 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  437 

of  God :  and  her  light  was  Hke  unto  a  stone  most  precious,  even 
Hke  a  jasper  stone,  clear  as  crystal;  and  had  a  wall  great  and 
high,  and  had  twelve  gates;  and  at  the  gates  twelve  angels, 
and  names  written  thereon,  which  are  the  names  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel :  on  the  east  three  gates ;  on 
the  north  three  gates ;  on  the  south  three  gates ;  and  on  the 
west  three  gates.  And  the  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve  founda- 
tions, and  in  them  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the 
Lamb.  And  he  that  talked  with  me  had  a  golden  reed  to 
measure  the  city,  and  the  gates  thereof,  and  the  wall  thereof. 
And  the  city  lieth  foursquare,  and  the  length  is  as  large  as 
the  breadth :  and  he  measured  the  city  with  the  reed,  twelve 
thousand  furlongs.  The  length,  and  the  breadth,  and  the 
height  of  it  are  equal.  And  he  measured  the  wall  thereof,  an 
hundred  and  forty  and  four  cubits,  according  to  the  measure 
of  a  man,  that  is,  of  the  angel. 

"And  the  building  of  the  wall  of  it  was  of  jasper:  and  the 
city  was  pure  gold,  like  unto  clear  glass.  And  the  foundations 
of  the  wall  of  the  city  were  garnished  with  all  manner  of 
precious  stones.  The  first  foundation  was  jasper;  the  second, 
sapphire ;  the  third,  a  chalcedony ;  the  fourth,  an  emerald ;  the 
fifth,  sardonyx;  the  sixth,  sardius;  the  seventh,  chrysolyte; 
the  eighth,  beryl ;  the  ninth,  a  topaz ;  the  tenth,  a  chrysoprasus ; 
the  eleventh,  a  jacinth ;  the  twelfth,  an  amethyst.  And  the 
twelve  gates  were  twelve  pearls ;  every  several  gate  was  of 
one  pearl:  and  the  street  of  the  city  was  of  pure  gold,  as  it 
were  transparent  glass.  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein :  for  the 
Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the  temple  of  it.  And 
the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine 
in  it:  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb  is 
the  light  thereof." 

(2)  Its  Inhabitants 
"And  the  nations  [ethne,  Gentile  contingent]  of  them  which 
are  saved  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it:  and  the  kings  of  the 


438  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

earth  [the  royal  priesthood  of  Israel]  do  bring  their  glory 
and  honor  into  it.  And  the  gates  of  it  shall  not  be  shut  at 
all  by  day:  for  there  shall  be  no  night  there.  And  they  shall 
bring  the  glory  and  honor  of  the  nations  [Gentiles]  into  it. 
And  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  anything  that  defileth, 
neither  whatsoever  worketh  abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie:  but 
they  which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life." 

(3)  The  Throne  of  God  Its  Source  of  Life  and  Central 

Glory 

"And  he  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as 
crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb. 
In  the  midst  of  the  street  of  it,  and  on  either  side  of  the  river, 
was  there  the  tree  of  life,  which  bare  twelve  manner  of  fruits, 
and  yielded  her  fruit  every  month:  and  the  leaves  of  the  tree 
were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

"And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse:  but  the  throne  of  God 
and  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it ;  and  his  servants  shall  serve  him : 
and  they  shall  see  his  face ;  and  his  name  shall  be  in  their  fore- 
heads :  and  there  shall  be  no  night  there ;  and  they  need  no 
candle,  neither  light  of  the  sun ;  for  the  Lord  God  giveth  them 
light:  and  they  shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 

The  exponential  character  of  the  quadrate  that  introduces 
this  whelming  contrastive  scene  is  clear,  both  from  its  content 
and  from  its  structural  office.  The  apocalyptist  first  tells  us 
what  he  saw,  and  then  what  he  heard. 

The  new  heavens,  the  new  earth,  and  the  New  Jerusalem 
are  the  great  factors  of  characterization.  That  these  terse 
paragraphs  are  exponential  must  be  logically  inferred  from  the 
fact  that  it  yet  remains  for  him  to  take  the  hand  of  his  celestial 
Guide,  and  ascend  the  great  and  high  mountain  where  the  real 
descent  of  the  heavenly  city  was  witnessed.  The  new  heavens 
and  the  new  earth  are  also  proleptic,  for  later  the  throned 
Eternal  announces  the  fact  that  he  will  make  all  things  new-    , 

The  reader  should  pause  here  until  he  shall  have  fully  mas- 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  439 

tered  the  structural  features  of  this  Counterpart.  They  are 
strikingly  coincident  with  those  of  the  previous  section.  We 
have  here,  in  fact,  another  ^'broken  seven,"  with  its  severed 
paragraphs  on  either  side  hedging  the  great  central  vision  of 
the  glory  of  the  Bride.  In  the  two  groupings  of  the  quadrate 
which  present  audible  truth  we  easily  discern  the  presence  of 
the  first  and  second  Persons  of  the  Godhead.  It  should  not  be 
difficult,  at  this  stage  of  our  study,  in  the  remaining  paragraph 
to  discern  that  of  the  third. 

The  first  voice  is  that  of  the  Eternal  Spirit.  In  the  triad 
of  attestation  he  speaks  last.  Here  he  gives  assurance  of  the 
fact  that  henceforth  the  tabernacle  of  God  will  be  with  men, 
and  that  he  will  ''tabernacle"  with  them.  I  incline  to  the 
thought  that,  inasmuch  as  this  word  has  been  used  by  both 
Peter  and  Paul  as  referring  to  the  human  body,  it  may  here 
refer  to  the  glorified  body  of  Christ  rather  than  to  a  tent  like 
that  of  the  wilderness  march.  The  quadrate  presents  the 
thought  of  the  presence  of  God  with  his  people ;  the  triad,  the 
glorious  results  of  his  presence.  All  tears  are  forever  wiped 
away.  There  will  be  no  more  death ;  no  more  sorrow,  nor  cry- 
ing ;  no  more  pain,  for  the  former  things  are  passed  away. 

In  the  next  grouping  we  have  a  startling  innovation.  From 
the  inception  of  the  drama  up  to  this  point  no  sound  has  ever 
come  from  the  lips  of  the  indescribable  Personality  upon  the 
throne.  The  Apocalypse  thus  may  give  symbolic  recognition 
of  the  fact  of  a  silent  God  in  the  universe  he  has  created. 
From  the  first  disclosure  of  his  awful  throne  he  remains  mute. 
The  throne  itself  is  vocal,  with  its  utterance  always  hedged  by 
its  fearful  lightnings  and  thunders.  The  only  act  performed 
by  this  All-glorious  One  who  occupies  this  exalted  position  is 
that  of  extending  the  sealed  book  which  only  the  Lamb  was 
found  worthy  to  open.  Now,  at  the  point  of  the  vanishing  of 
the  heavens  and  the  earth,  he  speaks  again.  His  word  ushers 
in  the  new  creation.  This  utterance  from  the  throne  is  terse, 
but  of  tremendous  import:  ''And  he  that  sat  upon  the  throne 


440  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

said,  Behold,  I  make  all  things  new.  And  he  said  unto  me, 
Write:  for  these  words  are  true  and  faithful.  And  he  said 
unto  me.  It  is  done."  This  presents  a  triad.  The  quadrate 
introduces,  abruptly,  the  Alpha  and  Omega  in  a  way  which 
both  structurally  and  audibly  seems  to  unite  him  with  the 
Personality  upon  the  throne.  The  title  Alpha  and  Omega 
is  employed  four  times  in  the  Apocalypse;  three  times  there 
is  associate  with  it  the  statement,  "I  am  the  beginning  and  the 
end,"  and  in  three  instances  out  of  the  four  it  is  unmistakably 
applied  to  the  personality  of  the  Son.  By  the  law  of  solidarity 
of  symbol  we  are  compelled  thus  to  recognize  its  application 
here.  The  fact  creates  no  confusion,  violates  no  principle 
of  the  symbolism,  but  the  rather  visually  certifies  what  has 
already,  in  so  many  instances,  been  disclosed.  The  eternal 
Son  is  upon  the  throne.  He  announces  this  himself  at  the 
same  time  that  he  proclaims  himself  the  Alpha  and  Omega. 
He  says,  'T  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne;"  and 
to  Philip,  "He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father."  The 
mystery  here  presented  may  remain  forever  beyond  our  finite 
comprehension,  but  it  is  only  that  which  we  are  ever  compelled 
to  recognize  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  the  Holy  Trin- 
ity. We  have  seen  how  the  trinitarian  symbols  have  been  so 
marvelously  blended  in  these  ranking  figures  of  the  book ;  here 
there  is  but  one  Personality  in  the  field  of  vision,  though  we 
are  audibly  assured  of  the  presence  of  the  three  divine  Per- 
sonalities at  the  headlands  of  this  contrastive  scene.  The 
Infinite  and  Eternal  no  man  hath  seen  nor  can  see.  When  we 
shall  look  upon  the  unveiled  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  upon 
the  throne  it  will  be  that  of  Him  who  dwelt  among  us  in  the 
person  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  blending  of  these  two  Personal- 
ities here  in  the  triad  and  quadrate  of  one  grouping  is  signifi- 
cant. The  reader  will  note  its  Christophanic  significance,  in 
that  it  deals  with  both  the  saved  and  the  lost — in  the  latter 
case  presenting  a  full  seven — in  the  same  manner  as  has  been 
previously  noted  with  respect  to  this  terminal  scene,  notably 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  441 

in  the  Theophany,  where  this  same  sevenfold  aggregate  are 
terrified  at  the  face  of  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and 
at  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb. 

The  Glory  of  the  Bride 

With  this  introductory  quadrate  thus  placed  in  exponential 
position  the  way  is  prepared  for  the  introduction  of  the  most 
ravishing  vision  which  follows.  The  master  of  ceremonies 
now  approaches  the  seer.  He  is  one  of  the  white-robed,  golden- 
girdled  angels  who,  as  the  stern  executives  of  this  series, 
poured  out  the  vials  of  the  divine  wrath.  It  will  be  recalled 
that  it  was  also  one  of  these  who  performed  like  office  with 
respect  to  the  antithetic  symbolism  of  the  Trilogy.  He  was 
by  him  borne  away  in  the  spirit  into  the  wilderness,  that  he 
might  behold  the  judgment  of  the  great  whore.  Now  under 
the  same  leading  hand  he  ascends,  or  rather  is  carried  away 
in  the  spirit,  to  a  great  and  high  mountain,  that  he  may  behold 
the  antithesis  of  the  awful  scene  of  the  threnody. 

Nothing,  in  all  the  realms  of  literature  or  art,  ever  portrayed 
by  pen  or  painted  by  brush  approaches  the  ravishing  beauty 
of  the  whelming  characterization  that  is  now  disclosed  as  the 
grand  climax  of  the  mighty  drama.  It  is  the  transcendent 
masterpiece  of  inspiration,  the  sublime  and  fitting  peroration 
of  the  Book  of  God.  In  its  monumental  massiveness  and  jew- 
eled splendor  it  stands  at  the  headlands  of  eternity  as  the  whelm- 
ing result  of  the  triumph  of  Redeeming  Love — the  index  of 
what  lies  yet  onward  within  the  opening  gates  that  disclose 
the  golden  avenues  of  immortality  and  the  bliss  of  eternal  life. 
As  we  gaze  upon  such  a  whelming  picture  as  this,  and  listen 
to  the  mighty  thunderings  of  triumph  which  like  great  billows 
of  glory  dash  up  against  the  eternal  throne,  we  must  lay 
down  the  pen.  To  touch  such  a  picture  is  but  to  mar  it.  It 
bankrupts  all  language  and  whelms  our  struggling  thought. 

The  parallel  in  the  method  of  characterization  between  the 
leading  figures  of  this  Counterpart  and  that  of  the  Trilogy 


442  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

gives  the  clearest  evidence  of  design.  On  the  one  side  it  is  the 
harlot,  on  the  other  the  Bride.  Both  metamorphose  into  cities. 
The  one  becomes  a  "habitation  of  devils,  the  hold  of  every  foul 
spirit,  and  the  cage  of  every  unclean  and  hateful  bird" ;  the 
other  presents  this  ravishing  vision  of  jeweled  splendor  and 
celestial  blessedness.  Both  cities  are  eternal.  Of  the  one  it 
is  said  that  "the  smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  forever 
and  ever" ;  of  the  other  "there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither 
sorrow  nor  crying,"  and  that  "they  need  no  candle,  neither 
light  of  the  sun,  for  the  Lord  God  giveth  them  light,  and  they 
shall  reign  forever  and  ever." 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  fact  that  the  intro- 
duction of  this  figure  of  the  Bride  as  ready  for  the  marriage 
of  the  Lamb  follows  immediately  upon  the  culmination  of  the 
Babylonian  symbolism.  It  should  hardly  be  necessary  to  dwell 
upon  the  fact  that  its  introduction  there,  punctuated  in  the 
manner  it  is,  fully  determines  the  point  that  all  that  follows 
is  simply  elaboration — on  the  one  side  the  details,  from  the 
trinitarian  standpoint,  of  the  great  battle,  and  on  the  other 
that  of  the  glorious  triumph  of  the  forces  of  light.  The  value 
of  such  a  demonstration  as  this  should  be  sufficient  to  compel 
a  sane  exegesis  of  this  most  sadly  perverted  portion  of  the 
Apocalypse. 

In  order  to  a  full  understanding  of  the  sublimity  of  this  mar- 
riage scene  we  must  connect  this  elaboration  with  that  of  its 
most  tumultuous  introduction,  which  marks  its  structural  posi- 
tion in  the  panorama.  The  curtain  falls  upon  the  terrible 
career  and  fearful  fate  of  the  great  harlot,  and  then  rises  upon 
this  transcendent  contrastive  picture.  A  voice  from  the  throne 
calls  for  praise,  and  in  response  there  comes  "as  it  were  the 
voice  of  a  great  multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters, 
and  as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying,  Alleluia: 
for  the  Lord  God  Omnipotent  reigneth.  Let  us  be  glad  and 
rejoice,  and  give  honor  to  him :  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb 
is  come,  and  his  wife  has  made  herself  ready.     And  to  her 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  443 

was  granted  that  she  should  be  arrayed  in  fine  hnen,  clean 
and  white :  for  the  fine  linen  is  the  righteousness  of  the  saints." 
There  is  evident  contrast  between  the  trousseau  of  the  Bride 
and  the  loud  raiment  of  the  harlot,  of  purple  and  scarlet, 
decked  with  gold  and  ablaze  with  pearls  and  precious  stones. 
The  disclosure  here  of  the  significance  of  the  white  by  impli- 
cation gives  that  of  the  scarlet.  Crimson  and  scarlet  are 
Bible  types  of  sin,  and  are  therefore  most  appropriately  em- 
ployed in  this  connection.  It  is  significant  that  the  gold,  pearls, 
and  precious  stones,  so  lavishly  disported  in  the  robes  of  the 
harlot,  find  no  place  in  the  attire  of  the  Bride.  She  needs 
them  not.  She  is  one  great  Jewel  herself,  a  diadem  of  beauty 
that  far  outshines  all  the  wealth  of  all  the  Ophirs  and  Golcon- 
das  of  earth.  Her  adornment  is  the  glory  of  God.  And  yet 
no  support  is  here  given  to  the  thought  that  in  order  to  be  a 
true  Christian  all  that  God  has  made  precious  or  beautiful  in 
this  world  is  to  be  contemned.  The  glory  that  here  dazzles 
our  vision  should  be  sufficient  to  teach  us  our  mistake.  The 
gold,  precious  stones,  and  pearls  of  the  Bride  far  outshine 
those  in  the  paraphernalia  of  the  harlot.  But  if  we  look 
closely  at  the  two  pictures  we  may  see  that  there  is  an  in- 
tended antithesis  that  is  simply  whelming. 

There  are  two  most  instructive  points  of  contrast  between 
the  figxires  of  the  harlot  and  the  Bride :  the  one  on  the  shores 
of  time,  the  other  on  those  of  eternity.  The  woman-symbol 
in  both  cases  relates  to  the  former;  as  metamorphosed  into 
the  city,  to  the  latter.  Keeping  this  fact  in  mind,  the  antithesis 
presented  speaks  with  whelming  power.  The  harlot  symbol 
is  climacteric  in  its  portraiture  of  sensuality  at  the  height  of 
its  fevered  delirium.  The  picture  painted  is  true  to  life.  The 
great  mother  of  harlots  mystically  sets  the  pace  for  all  her 
foul  brood  in  the  lavish  splendor  with  which  she  adorns  her- 
self that  she  may  allure  her  lecherous  paramours  to  her  wild 
debauch  of  sin.  Of  the  fifty  million  dollars'  worth  of  jewelry 
manufactured  in  the  United  States  each  year,  no  small  part 


444  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

is  displayed  upon  the  person  of  the  bawd.  But  how  striking 
the  contrast  in  the  attire  of  the  Bride!  No  soHtaires  sparkle 
in  her  ears;  no  brilliants  adorn  her  hair;  no  pearls  or  rubies 
around  her  neck  nor  gems  of  rarer  luster  upon  her  fingers. 
Her  garments  once  were  scarlet,  but  she  has  washed  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  She  has  her  treasures,  and 
they  are  of  priceless  value;  but  they  are  all  laid  up  in  the 
city  where  moth  and  rust  do  not  corrupt  and  where  thieves 
do  not  break  through  and  steal.  When  her  Lord  shall  come 
to  make  up  his  jewels  she  will  find  them.  Her  precious  stones 
form  the  chromatic  splendors  of  the  foundations  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  her  pearls  swing  as  gates  before  the  hosts  of  the 
redeemed,  her  gold  paves  a  shining  pathway  from  a  lost  world 
up  to  the  throne  of  God.  "The  building  of  the  wall  of  it  was 
of  jasper:  and  the  city  was  pure  gold."  The  jasper  and  the 
sardine  stone  were  the  gems  of  the  Theophany.  Here  the 
walls  of  the  city  reflect  the  same  glory,  though  the  absence  of 
the  sardius  as  associate  with  the  jasper  may  indicate  the  fact 
of  an  incommunicable  reserve  in  the  Deity  which  can  be  shared 
with  none  of  his  creatures. 

As  we  gaze  upon  these  gates  of  pearl — "every  several  gate 
of  one  pearl" — we  behold  blazoned  upon  them  the  names  of 
the  twelve  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel.  This  fact  certifies 
the  integrity  of  the  prophets  by  showing  that  the  Apocalypse 
is  as  loyal  to  them  as  was  the  Master  himself.  The  name  Israel 
occurs  but  three  times  in  the  book :  once  in  the  epistles,  where 
we  have  the  figure  of  the  stumbling-block  thrown  before  them 
by  the  king  and  the  false  prophet;  and  again  at  the  head  of 
the  celestial  series,  where  the  whole  of  the  twelve  tribes  are 
caused  to  pass  before  us  in  even  rank,  twelve  thousand  strong, 
to  receive  in  their  foreheads  the  seal  of  the  living  God.  Sub- 
sequently the  name  drops  out  of  sight,  though  the  host  that 
thus  receives  the  seal  does  not,  but  may  be  found  by  its  cer- 
tified insignia  throughout  the  entire  body  of  the  symbolism 
until  the  mighty  conflict  ends  and  the  names  of  the  victors 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  445 

flash  out  in  the  pearl-splendor  of  the  golden  city.  The  New 
Jerusalem  is  a  Messianic  city,  for  it  is  built  upon  twelve  foun- 
dations that  have  in  them  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles 
of  the  Lamb.  It  is  therefore  clear  that  we  are  here  dealing 
with  these  twelve  tribes  as  within  the  mystic  topography  of 
the  gospel  day.  They  receive  the  divine  seal.  They  are  the 
great  multitude  whom  no  man  could  number.  They  range  them- 
selves with  the  Lamb  upon  Mount  Sion,  and  upon  their  white 
horses  follow  him  through  the  battle-storm  of  the  great  Arma- 
geddon. As  the  porters  of  the  gates  of  the  celestial  city  they 
are  only  characteristically  presented  here  as  having  rounded 
out  their  prophetic  destiny.  The  city  rests  upon  twelve  foun- 
dations, and  in  them  the  names  of  the  twelve  apostles  of  the 
Lamb.  This  fact  most  eflfectually  negatives  the  vaunting 
claims  of  Rome  with  respect  to  the  primacy  of  Peter.  Theirs 
is  a  pseudo-Peter,  for  the  real  Peter  is  only  one  of  the  twelve. 

The  parallel  between  the  Apocalypse  and  the  prophecy  of 
Ezekiel  at  this  point  is  too  striking  to  have  been  merely  acci- 
dental. In  Ezekiel  the  entire  eschatological  plan  is  dominated 
by  the  presence  of  the  whole  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. 
Under  the  power  of  prophecy  and  the  breath  of  God  they  arise 
out  of  the  great  death  valley  where  their  whitened  bones  have 
been  beaten  by  the  storms  of  the  centuries.  Then,  as  an  ex- 
ceeding great  army  once  more  upon  its  feet,  they  face  the 
ordeal  of  the  great  Gog  battle  for  the  empire  of  the  world. 
This  battle  ended — in  glorious  victory  for  Israel — the  hand  of 
the  Lord  is  again  upon  the  prophet  and  he  is  borne  in  the 
spirit  to  a  great  and  high  mountain  from  whose  summit  he 
beholds  the  frame  of  a  city  that  lies  foursquare,  with  a  mystic 
river  flowing  from  a  "house"  that  contains  within  it  the  throne 
of  the  Eternal  God.  On  the  banks  of  this  river  there  are 
trees  that  bring  forth  twelve  fruitages,  and  whose  leaves  are 
for  medicine.  The  apocalyptist  recognized  the  inspiration  of 
Ezekiel ;  the  eschatology  of  the  Apocalypse  must  therefore 
square  with  him.     The  striking  manner  in  which  the  vision 


446  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

reproduces  Ezekiel  fully  certifies  all  that  he  has  said  with 
reference  to  this  rising  again  of  Israel  and  wresting  from 
the  Gentile  nations  the  empire  of  the  world.  The  resurrection 
from  the  great  death  valley  squares  with  the  first  resurrection 
of  the  Apocalypse ;  the  mighty  struggle  which  in  both  instances 
follows  is  also  certified  to  be  the  same,  though  with  respect 
to  the  city  John  soars  away  from  Ezekiel  as  upon  eagle's 
wings.  That  of  Ezekiel  was  an  incomplete  conception.  In 
John  the  square  assumes  the  form  of  a  cube  of  jeweled  glory. 
But  the  names  which  John  beholds  upon  the  gates  are  the 
same  as  those  of  the  vision  of  the  Chebar.  It  is  a  Hebrew 
city,  and  the  nations  of  them  which  are  saved  shall  walk  in 
the  light  of  it. 

Mystic  measurement  in  the  vision  of  Ezekiel  occurs  upon 
an  elaborate  scale.  Here  it  is  simplified,  but  evidently  has 
the  same  design.  It  is  introduced  in  connection  with  the  dis- 
closure of  the  temple  in  the  Pneumatophany,  where  the  meas- 
uring reed  touches  the  temple,  the  altar,  and  the  worshipers. 
Here  the  golden  reed  in  the  hand  of  the  angel  also  touches 
three  points — the  city,  its  gates,  and  its  walls.  The  measure- 
ment of  the  walls,  of  a  hundred  and  forty-four  cubits,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  city  itself,  of  twelve  thousand  furlongs, 
literally  about  fifteen  hundred  miles,  are  both  mysticisms  which 
relate  to  the  regal  phase  of  the  figure.  With  respect  to  the 
gems  which  garnish  the  foundations  classification  is  difficult, 
and  their  significance  more  so.  The  fact  that  the  wall  itself 
is  jasper,  and  the  first  gem  in  the  foundations  likewise,  gives 
the  suggestion  of  some  occult  design  in  thus  giving  precedence 
here  to  the  leading  gem  of  the  Theophany.  That  these  jewels 
are  the  same  as  those  upon  which  the  names  of  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel  were  engraved  upon  the  breastplate  of  the  high 
priest  is  hardly  debatable  (see  Exod.  27.  17-20;  39.  10-13). 

The  massing  of  all  this  crystalline  splendor  in  this  culmi- 
nating figure  of  the  Apocalypse  may  hold  the  suggestion  of 
that  glorious   transformation   which   awaits   matter   itself   in 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  447 

the  new  creation.  Matter,  as  we  know  it,  is  in  disguise.  In 
fact,  we  really  know  less  about  it  than  we  do  of  the  spirit 
which  animates  it.  Why  has  God,  who  is  himself  pure  spirit, 
created  matter?  For  what  great  end  has  he  strewn  the  stellar 
spaces  with  such  material  splendor?  Why  is  the  human  spirit 
robed  in  it  during  its  state  of  probation  ?  Will  it  exist  forever  ? 
These  questions  may  be  answered  in  part.  To  us  matter  is 
indestructible.  All  the  scientists  on  earth,  with  the  aid  of  all 
the  angels  in  heaven,  could  not  annihilate  a  single  mote  that 
floats  in  a  sunbeam.  We  behold  it  in  a  constant  state  of  flux, 
or  transition.  Decay  and  death  seem  written  all  over  it. 
Worlds  grow  old,  and  stars  grow  cold,  and  the  moss  may 
cover  their  departed  glory.  Dead  worlds,  and  dark  stars, 
may  be  more  than  the  living  and  shining.  But  the  edict  has 
gone  forth  from  the  throne  that  there  shall  be  no  more  death. 
The  voice  of  the  Eternal  shall  ring  through  this  cemetery  of 
dead  worlds,  saying,  "Behold,  I  make  all  things  new."  Matter 
will  continue  to  exist;  but  it  will  be  transformed,  its  disguise 
thrown  oflf,  and  we  shall  see  it  as  it  is.  The  eternity  of  matter 
has  been  certified  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body  of  Jesus 
Christ — as  the  firstfruits  of  them  that  sleep — and  its  exalta- 
tion to  the  throne  of  God.  Heaven  and  earth  will  pass  away, 
and  there  may  be  debris  of  matter  as  well  as  debris  of  spirit, 
and  the  two  may  be  fittingly  associated  together.  The  pun- 
ishment of  the  wicked  might  be  conceived,  in  part,  as  of  their 
being  allowed  to  take  as  their  eternal  inheritance  that  which 
they  in  their  earthly  life  chose  in  preference  to  their  God; 
while  the  crystalline  splendor  of  the  New  Jerusalem  but  gives 
the  mystic  reflex  of  what  Infinite  Love  will  present  as  the 
eternal  dowry  of  the  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus.  What 
God  may  finally  make  of  the  material  universe  may  be  one  of 
the  startling  surprises  that  await  the  redeemed.  We  know 
that  the  world-stuff  for  just  such  a  city  as  John  here  portrays 
lies  all  around  us,  hidden  in  rock,  carbon,  and  clay.  God  has 
given  man  dominion  over  the  material  realm,  and  there  is  no 


448  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

intimation  that  he  will  ever  reverse  the  decree.  With  such 
a  picture  as  this  held  before  us  we  may  be  sure  that  if  such 
a  glorious  city  does  not  in  reality  exist  it  is  because  it  has 
been  reserved  for  a  redeemed  humanity  to  build  it. 

Central  within  the  vision  of  the  Chebar  there  was  a  glorious 
temple;  but  John  says  of  this  city,  "And  I  saw  no  temple 
therein:  for  the  Lord  God  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the 
temple  of  it."  It  had  no  need  of  the  sun  or  the  moon  to 
shine  in  it,  "for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  Lamb 
is  the  light  thereof."  If  John  had  said  that  it  was  illumined 
by  the  sun,  or  a  thousand  suns,  the  scientist  would  volunteer 
the  information  that,  somewhere  down  the  eternities,  its  golden 
streets  would  be  shrouded  in  darkness ;  for  suns,  like  burning 
tapers,  will  at  last  expire.  Their  office  relates  to  things  tem- 
poral, and  not  to  things  eternal.  But,  no;  its  central  sun  is 
the  glory  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  Uncreated  light,  like  the 
river  which  flows  from  the  throne  and  from  the  Godhead's 
deepest  sea,  will  stream  on  forever  and  ever. 

"The  nations  of  them  which  are  saved  shall  walk  in  the 
light  of  it:  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  glory 
and  honor  into  it."  The  Revised  Version  here  has,  "And  the 
nations  shall  walk  amidst  the  light  thereof:  and  the  kings  of 
the  earth  do  bring  their  glory  into  it." 

If  the  word  "ethne"  here  be  translated  "Gentiles"  it  will 
focus  the  light  of  numerous  passages  upon  the  statement  made. 
In  Isa.  49.  6  the  office  of  the  promised  Messiah  is  declared 
to  be  that  of  raising  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  restoring  the  pre- 
served of  Israel,  and  also  to  shine  as  a  light  to  the  Gentiles. 
Later  it  is  said,  "The  Gentiles  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and 
kings  to  the  brightness  of  thy  rising"  (60.  3).  "And  the 
Gentiles  shall  see  thy  righteousness,  and  all  kings  thy  glory" 
{62.  2).  "A  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  thy 
people  Israel"  (Luke  2.  32). 

The  Gentiles  here  are  thus  shown  in  the  same  relative  position 
to  these  kings  of  the  earth  as  Is  Indicated  by  these  scriptures. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  449 

Again,  this  thought  finds  further  elucidation  in  the  follow- 
ing verses:  "And  the  gates  of  it  shall  not  be  shut  at  all  by 
day :  for  there  shall  be  no  night  there.  And  they" — these  kings 
of  the  earth — ''shall  bring  the  honor  and  glory  of  the  Gentiles 
into  it."  Israel  thus  fulfills  its  mission  as  foreseen  by  Isaiah 
(66.  19). 

This  city,  it  will  be  observed,  is  not  a  development  of  the 
new  creation,  but  descends  into  it  from  God,  out  of  heaven, 
in  all  the  splendor  of  its  crystalline  perfection.  The  Bride 
and  the  City  are  one.  Admitting  this,  the  significance  of  this 
descent  becomes  plain.  As  the  resurrected  and  glorified 
church  of  Christ  she  was  caught  up  from  the  earth  to  meet 
him  at  his  coming.  As  she  rises  the  world  beneath  her  feet 
is  given  to  the  flames  and  passes  away.  Its  empires  and 
thrones,  its  cities  and  palaces,  for  which  human  ambitions  have 
struggled,  lie  among  the  cinders  of  ended  time.  It  would 
have  been  a  strange  omission  in  the  sacred  penman  if  he  had 
left  the  Bride  of  Christ  forever  suspended  in  the  air.  He  sees 
her  home-coming,  but  it  is  not,  as  chiliasm  teaches,  to  this 
sin-cursed  earth,  but  to  a  land  where  there  is  no  death,  and 
where  all  tears  shall  be  forever  wiped  away. 

Let  the  song  cease ;  let  the  harps  be  silent ;  we  are  approach- 
ing now  the  culminating  point  of  this  body  of  mysticism.  It 
was  foreshadowed  in  the  utterance  of  the  exponents  at  the 
head  of  this  section ;  it  is  here  disclosed.  Vision  is  now  directed 
to  the  central  glory  of  the  city — the  throne.  It  is  the  same 
throne  from  which,  in  the  Theophany,  the  lightnings  flamed 
and  the  thunders  roared.  They  are  now  hushed  to  silence  in 
the  momentous  hour  of  the  triumph  of  redeeming  love.  In- 
stead, it  now  sends  forth  a  beautiful  crystal  river  of  the  water 
of  life,  flowing  from  the  fathomless  depths  of  infinite  love. 
Upon  its  banks  grows  the  tree  whose  fruits  were  blighted, 
and  whose  healing  leaves  were  withered  by  the  curse  that  was 
entailed  by  sin.  But  now  it  blooms  again,  and  the  flaming 
swords  that  hedged  it  are  sheathed  forever.     "There  shall  be 


450  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

no  more  curse:  but  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  shall  be 
in  it:  and  his  servants  shall  serve  him:  and  they  shall  see  his 
face :  and  his  name  shall  be  in  their  foreheads." 

Resplendent  in  her  celestial  wedding  robes,  crowned  with 
the  jeweled  diadem  of  eternal  life,  the  Bride  awaits  the  un- 
veiling of  the  face  of  her  Beloved.  She  has  reached  the  golden 
shores  of  infinite  bliss.  Hers  is  this  crystal  river;  hers  this 
whelming  glory  of  the  eternal  throne ;  hers  this  mystic  nuptial 
union  with  her  Lord ;  hers  this  hour  of  triumph,  where  the 
harps  of  angels  are  drowned  in  the  mighty  thunderings  of  the 
redeemed. 

Hers  indeed  has  been  the  pathway  of  great  tribulation.  She 
has  fled  before  the  hot  breath  of  the  dragon  to  the  shadows 
of  an  awful  wilderness,  where  her  bright  stars  are  lost  and  the 
sunlight  fades  out  of  her  robings.  She  has  worn  the  chains 
of  the  slave,  toiled  in  the  brickkilns,  and  wept  by  the  rivers. 
Her  weary  feet  have  stumbled  on  the  dark  mountains ;  she  has 
groped  her  way  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
when  the  star  of  hope  withdrew  its  shining.  She  has  seen 
her  thrones  fall,  and  her  altar  fires  go  out  in  darkness.  Kings 
have  dragged  her  at  their  chariot  wheels,  and  tyrants  have 
reddened  the  earth  with  her  blood.  And  yet  God  has  stood 
within  the  shadows,  keeping  watch  above  his  own.  She  has 
seen  thrones  fall,  and  heard  the  crash  of  empires,  and  through 
the  gloom  of  the  midnight  has  heard  the  voice  of  her  Be- 
loved, and  in  the  dim  perspective  seen  the  harbinger  of  the 
morning. 

With  a  love  stronger  than  death  she  has  trodden  down  the 
fiery  fields  of  her  sorrows,  and  washed  her  garments  white  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  She  leaves  the  wilderness  forever, 
leaning  upon  the  arm  of  her  Beloved,  clear  as  the  sun,  fair  as 
the  moon,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners;  a  glorious 
church,  "without  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing."  She 
lifts  her  eyes  to  the  throne,  and  beholds  the  unveiled  Face,  and 
she  knows  that  her  God  and  Redeemer  are  one. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  451 

"And  they  need  no  candle,  neither  Hght  of  the  sun ;  for  the 
Lord  God  giveth  them  light:  and  they  shall  reign  forever  and 
ever." 

Thus  ends  the  panorama  of  the  Apocalypse,  in  this  whelm- 
ing climacteric  picture,  at  the  opening  gates  of  eternity.  The 
triad  of  attestation  which  follows  completes  the  "broken 
seven" ;  rounds  out  the  structural  symmetry  of  the  book,  which 
closes,  as  it  began,  with  the  inscrutable  mystery  of  the  Holy 
Trinity. 

In  the  introductory  paragraphs  of  the  Apocalypse  our  atten- 
tion is  held  by  the  emphatic  manner  in  which  the  great  trini- 
tarian  mystery  is  presented.  In  this  respect  the  symbolism 
ends  as  it  began,  though  consistently  changed  in  its  expression. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  it  may  be  that  only  the  properly  sensitized 
ear  may  catch  this  soft  whisper  of  finality;  but  we  miss  a 
most  important  voicing  if  we  fail  to  apprehend  it.  The  attesta- 
tion of  the  book  is  designedly  trinitarian.  The  order  of  the 
introductory  paragraph  (chapter  i.  1-4)  is  that  of  (i)  Jesus 
Christ;  (2)  God;  (3)  the  Angel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Here  the 
order  is  that  of  the  baptismal  formula,  and  of  the  three  divine 
dispensations.  The  teaching  points  may  be  studied  to  better 
advantage  after  a  glance  at  the  paragraphs  themselves. 

Trinitarian  Attestations  of  the  Apocalypse 
(i)  By  the  Father 
"(i)  And  he  saith  unto  me,  These  sayings  are  faithful  and 
true :  (2)  and  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy  prophets  sent  his  Angel 
to  show  unto  his  servants  things  which  must  shortly  be  done. 
(3)  Behold,  I  come  quickly:  blessed  is  he  that  keepeth  the  say- 
ings of  the  prophecy  of  this  book." 

the  mystic  punctuation  point 
"(i)  And  I  John  saw  these  things,  and  heard  them.     And 
when  I  had  heard  and  seen,  I  fell  down  to  worship  before  the 
feet  of  the  Angel  which  showed  me  these  things.     (2)  Then 


452  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

saith  he  unto  me,  See  thou  do  it  not :  for  I  am  thy  fellow  serv- 
ant, and  of  thy  brethren  the  prophets,  and  of  them  which  keep 
the  sayings  of  this  book:  Worship  God.  (3)  And  he  saith  unto 
me.  Seal  not  the  sayings  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book:  for 
the  time  is  at  hand." 

(2)  By  the  Son 
(i)  "(i)  He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still:  (2)  and 
he  which  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still;   (3)   and  he  that  is 
righteous,  let  him  be  righteous  still:  (4)  and  he  that  is  holy, 
let  him  be  holy  still." 

(2)  "And,  behold,  I  come  quickly;  and  my  reward  is  with 
me,  to  give  every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be." 

(3)  "(i)  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  (2)  the  beginning  and 
the  end,  (3)  the  first  and  the  last." 

(4)  "Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  commandments,  that  they 
may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in  through 
the  gates  into  the  city." 

(5)  "For  without  are  (i)  dogs,  (2)  and  sorcerers,  (3)  and 
whoremongers,  (4)  and  murderers,  (5)  and  idolaters,  (6)  and 
whosoever  loveth  (7)  and  maketh  a  lie." 

(6)  "I  Jesus  have  sent  mine  Angel  to  testify  unto  you  these 
things  in  the  churches." 

(7)  "I  am  the  root,  and  the  offspring  of  David,  and  the 
bright  and  morning  star." 

(3)  By  the  Spirit 

(i)  "(i)  And  the  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say,  Come.  (2)  And 
let  him  that  heareth  say.  Come.  (3)  And  let  him  that  is 
athirst  come.  (4)  And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water 
of  life  freely." 

(2)  "(5)  For  I  testify  unto  every  man  that  heareth  the 
words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book.  If  any  man  shall  add  unto 
these  things,  God  shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  that  are 
written  in  this  book:    (6)   and  if  any  man  shall  take  away 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  453 

from  the  words  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take  away  his  part 
from  the  book  [or  tree]  of  life,  and  out  of  the  Holy  City, 
and  from  the  things  which  are  written  in  this  book." 

(3)  '*(7)  He  which  tesHReth  these  things  saith.  Surely  I 
come  quickly.    Amen." 

benediction  by  the  apocalyptist 

(4)  "Even  so,  come.  Lord  Jesus.  The  grace  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all.    Amen." 

A  careful  examination  of  this  triad  of  attestation,  in  the 
light  that  has  been  thrown  upon  the  dominant  character  of 
the  structural  principle  that  pervades  the  entire  book,  will  show 
that  we  have  here  the  same  numeric  profundity  as  elsewhere 
in  the  book.  The  same  triune  Divine  Personalities  that  are 
disclosed  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the  book  are  again  presented 
in  this  attestation  at  its  close,  though  the  order  of  precedence 
is  changed.  It  is  here  (i)  God,  (2)  Jesus  Christ,  (3)  the 
testifying  Angel. 

If  the  fact  of  a  "broken  seven"  be  admitted  to  hold  with 
respect  to  the  subdivisions  of  the  final  section  of  the  Trilogy 
it  would  logically  follow  here.  Whether  it  does  or  does  not 
may  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  reader  after  he  shall  have 
carefully  considered  the  analysis  given  above.  The  "great 
seven"  of  this  Contrastive  Counterpart  consists,  thus,  of  the 
leading  factor  of  the  new  heaven  and  new  earth  and  the  new 
Jerusalem,  and  then  the  trinitarian  paragraphic  voicings.  The 
Bride  thus  occupies  the  place  of  the  sun-robed  woman  in  the 
structural  plan.  Following  this  quadrate  we  have  the  vision 
of  the  city,  which  is  antithetic  to  that  of  the  other  city  doomed 
to  everlasting  burnings.  Sequent  to  this  is  this  triad  of 
attestation. 

The  one  feature  of  this  terminal  grouping  upon  which  special 
attention  should  be  centered  is  that  of  the  striking  manner 
in  which  this  attestation,  in  its  method,  certifies  the  unity  of 


454  The  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

the  distinctive  features  of  the  Trilogy.  A  perfect  reflex  of  its 
structural  form  is  given  here,  even  to  the  marking  its  terminal 
point  by  the  same  punctuating  episode  of  the  apocalyptist's 
misdirected  worship  of  the  testifying  Angel.  The  threnody 
ended,  there  is  but  one  paragraph — that  relating  to  the  marriage 
of  the  Lamb — and  then  this  point  of  punctuation.  In  the  Coun- 
terpart, after  the  glory  of  the  Bride  has  ravished  our  vision, 
there  is  but  one  paragraph — that  which  relates  to  the  coming 
of  the  Lord  God  of  the  holy  prophets — and  again  this  same 
punctuation  point.  In  the  Trilogy  there  follow  the  two  supple- 
mental sections  of  elaboration  of  the  issues  of  the  one  great 
battle  of  the  day  of  Almighty  God ;  here  there  follow  two  para- 
graphs of  attestation,  in  which  each  remaining  Personality  of 
the  Holy  Trinity  also  proclaims  his  coming,  with  distinctions 
noted  that  are  highly  instructive.  There  is  but  one  coming, 
as  there  is  but  one  great  battle,  but  its  trinitarian  phases  must 
be  all  characterized.  Just  as  abruptly  as  the  diademed  white- 
horseman  is  introduced  upon  the  great  field  of  battle,  here  we 
have  this  coming  of  Christ  abruptly  introduced  by  the  striking 
quadrate  which,  in  mystic  expression,  asserts  the  sudden  arrest 
of  human  probation  and  the  fixing  thereby  of  eternal  destiny. 
He  says,  "Behold,  I  come  quickly,  and  my  rezvard  is  with  me, 
to  give  to  every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be."  He  is 
the  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  first  and 
the  last.  In  his  presence  the  ''blessed"  enter  in  through  the 
gates  into  the  city;  without  are  the  "dogs,"  "sorcerers,"  etc. 
He  positively  fixes  his  identity,  as  he  does  that  of  the  testifying 
Angel  whom  he  sends.  He  is  also  the  root  and  offspring  of 
David,  and  the  bright  and  morning  star.  The  presence  of  a 
paragraphic  seven  here  is  easily  discernible.  The  Lord  God 
of  the  holy  prophets  sent  forth  this  Angel,  Jesus  Christ  also 
sends  him  forth,  and  finally  the  Angel  speaks  for  himself  in 
the  closing  paragraph  of  this  trinitarian  attestation.  And  the 
method,  like  that  of  the  preceding  paragraph,  shows  the  same 
abruptness  in  its  introduction.    It  also  presents  a  quadrate,  but. 


The  Retributive  Trilogy  455 

as  the  reader  will  note,  with  an  entirely  distinct  point  of  applica- 
tion. The  personality  of  this  testifying  Angel  is  announced 
in  the  foreground: 

''And  the  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that 
heareth  say,  Come.  And  let  him  that  is  athirst  come.  And 
whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 

He  has  been  already  introduced  by  Christ  as  the  Angel  whom 
he  sent  to  testify  in  the  churches.  It  has  been  clearly  proved 
that  this  Angel  is  none  other  than  the  Third  Person  of  the 
Trinity.    Here  in  his  final  attestation  he  emphasizes  the  fact. 

Many  understand  that  in  the  following  utterance  we  have  the 
warning  of  the  apocalyptist  against  the  corruption  of  the  text 
of  the  book;  but  the  one  who  says,  'Tor  I  testify  unto  every 
man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this  book,"  is 
unquestionably  the  Divine  Angel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  closes 
his  attestation  with  the  words,  "He  which  testifieth  these  things 
saith,  Surely  I  come  quickly.  Amen."  This  is  the  trinitarian 
Amen.  The  following  words  are  those  of  the  apocalyptist 
himself:  "Even  so,  come,  Lord  Jesus;"  to  which  he  adds  the 
benediction,  "The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you 
all.    Amen." 

That  this  coming,  here  relating  to  the  personality  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  has  only  the  significance  of  association  in  the  parousia 
of  Deity  at  the  last  day  may  be  a  conception  far  short  of  the 
truth  involved  in  this  paragraph  need  not  be  denied.  It  might 
be  possible  to  conceive  of  the  first  "Come"  of  this  quadrate 
as  an  appeal  of  the  Spirit  and  the  Bride,  whom  he  has  arrayed 
in  her  wedding  robes,  to  the  Bridegroom ;  but.  it  is  rather  to 
be  conceived  as  relating  to  the  universality  of  the  provisions 
of  gospel  grace  that  include  the  "whosoever." 

The  reader  should  carefully  discriminate  here  between  this 
Angel  of  Jesus  Christ,  sent  to  witness  in  the  churches,  and  this 
angel  of  the  vials  who  wears  the  Christophanic  girdle  of  gold. 
While  their  identity  in  a  qualified  sense  is  undoubtedly  the  same, 
yet  there  are  distinctions  to  be  noted  with  respect  to  their 


456  Tpie  Last  Message  of  Jesus  Christ 

relative  office  in  the  symbolism.  The  integral  and  distributive 
form  of  this  Angel  of  Jesus  Christ  previously  discussed  gives 
the  mobile  basis  of  the  transition.  If  it  be  objected  that  he 
cannot  be  divine,  else  he  would  not  have  refused  the  proffered 
worship  of  the  apocalyptist,  it  may  be  said  in  reply  that  there 
is  no  instance  on  record  in  the  Scriptures  where  specific  wor- 
ship is  offered  to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

In  the  presence  of  the  Throned  One  of  the  Theophany  the 
chant  of  the  zoa  rolls  on  forever.  In  the  presence  of  the  tri- 
umph of  the  Lamb  the  same  worship  offered  to  Him  that  sits 
upon  the  throne  is  offered  in  the  same  manner  to  him,  not  only 
by  zoa  and  elders,  but  by  all  the  angels  in  heaven.  But  in  this 
Presence,  that  is  robed  with  the  clouds  and  which  discloses 
the  face  and  feet  of  the  Alpha  and  Omega  and  who  speaks 
with  voice  divine,  whose  head  is  circled  by  the  rainbow  bor- 
rowed from  the  eternal  throne,  the  zoa,  the  elders,  and  the 
angels  are  all  mute.  This  is  the  fact.  The  mystery  we  may 
not  pretend  to  solve.  One  hint  may  be  given  to  us  in  the  fact 
that  blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a  sin  that  has  no  for- 
giveness. The  danger  of  committing  it  may  thus  be  lessened 
by  this  inhibition  of  worship.  It  certainly  is  not  to  be  con- 
strued as  depreciating  either  the  character  or  office  of  the 
Great  Pantokrator  of  the  Universe. 

John  is  still  on  Patmos.  The  barren  rocks  are  about  him. 
The  circling  sea  surges  and  swells  as- though  by  its  ceaseless 
meanings  it  would  call  the  ravished  spirit  of  the  apocalyptist 
back  from  these  opening  gates  of  the  eternities  to  the  humilia- 
tions and  sorrows  of  his  lonely  exile.  He  heeds  it  not.  His 
heart  has  gone  with  the  vanishing  Bride  within  the  veil.  One 
word  above  all  others  thrills  his  soul  with  rapturous  expecta- 
tion. It  is,  "Behold,  I  come  quickly,  and  my  reward  is  with 
me."  Three  times  he  heard  it  in  the  epistles;  three  times  in 
this  impressive  trinitarian  attestation.  As  he  lays  down  his  pen 
he  adds  this  most  earnest  prayer  of  his  heart,  which  should  ever 
voice  that  of  the  waiting  church :  "Even  so,  come.  Lord  Jesus." 


Date  Due 

%3    '4r 

W27 

AplO   - 

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MdlHMP 

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